Region won't support approvals for new developments until more is known about water quantity concerns

The Region of Waterloo says it won't support the approval of new developments as questions about the amount of water the municipality has access to in high-growth areas remain.

The region says there are no immediate concerns for residents and this is not a water quality issue, but the amount of water currently available may not support the expected growth in some areas of the community.

A staff report released Tuesday afternoon as part of the agenda package for next week’s sustainability, infrastructure and development committee meeting offers more information about the water capacity issue raised by the region last month.

The report notes that staff have used two methodologies to determine water capacity for a part of the region covered by the Mannheim Service Area, which includes Kitchener, Waterloo, and parts of Cambridge, Woolwich, and Wilmot.

One methodology is based on guidelines from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. It showed the region's water capacity is stable.

The other is the methodology that was tweaked by staff to provide a broader picture of the water capacity in the region. 

Regional Chair Karen Redman told CBC K-W’s The Morning Edition host Craig Norris this week that this second methodology is the one that has shown there are concerns about how much water is available.

“The Ministry of Environment,[ Conservation and Parks] has used a method of calibrating how much water we have. And what our staff came up with is saying 80 per cent of our potable water is groundwater and we're not sure that this is as accurate a measurement as possible,” Redman said.

“So they figured out what they thought was a more accurate way of assessing our capacity.”

The region had a third-party consultant, Cambridge-based Agile Infrastructure Ltd., review staff’s methodology and make recommendations on how to move forward.

After that review, the region says it will continue to use the revised water supply methodology as it moves into next steps of determining how to address the capacity concerns.

Developments like new buildings and homes are approved at the lower-tier level, by the cities or townships. The region provides comments on those applications.

The staff report says currently, “the region is not able to enter into new servicing agreements.”

“Until available water capacity is confirmed, development applications within the Mannheim Service Area will receive advisory comments. These comments outline that there is a water capacity constraint … and the region does not support approval for development applications at this time,” the report says.