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OAC Prof Heads Water Panel
Experts will advise province on protecting water, meeting needs of rural communities
BY ANDREW VOWLES
Prof. Al Lauzon of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development will head a panel of experts to advise the provincial government on protecting sources of drinking water and meeting the needs of rural communities.
The appointment complements Ontario's Clean Water Act, which was approved Oct. 18 and requires communities to identify and eliminate any significant risks to their water supplies.
The 11-member panel, including agricultural, municipal and conservation authority representatives, will advise Queen's Park on how to use a new provincial funding program, worth $7 million in its first year. The program is intended to help farmers and rural businesses reduce threats to local drinking-water sources, said Environment Minister Laurel Broten in a news release announcing the program and Lauzon's appointment.
Under an amendment this fall to the Clean Water Act, the provincial government will provide $5 million in 2007/08 to protect municipal water wells and surface-water intakes, and another $2 million over the same period for education on source protection planning.
Lauzon is past chair of the Ontario Rural Council (TORC), representing almost 40 rural organizations across Ontario. This summer, TORC held an environmental forum on source-water protection and the Clean Water Act, which drew participants from across the province.
A longtime facilitator and instructor at U of G, the Ingersoll resident studies and teaches capacity development and extension.
“My hope would be that the panel can be creative and identify recommendations that meet the needs and aspirations of all stakeholders,” he says.
Referring to recommendations on rural issues and drinking-water safety from this summer's forum presented to a legislative standing committee this fall, TORC executive director Harold Flaming says: “Al played a very key role in providing leadership to the Ontario Rural Council during the past year. The provincial ministry is recognizing that TORC is a key voice for rural Ontario. It's appropriate that Al should chair this advisory committee to ensure that the broad range of rural and source-water protection concerns are heard.”