About WaterSmart - History
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WaterSmart Niagara, formerly known as "The Niagara Water Quality Protection Strategy" (NWQPS), was released in October, 2003. The result of a 14 month multi-stakeholder consultation effort, WaterSmart Niagara is a strategy that works towards the common goals of protection, restoration and management of water resources across the Niagara watershed. The strategy guides users on how to best manage activities that affect our ground and surface water resources. It is intended to build on past successes, current initiatives, and future plans of stakeholders and area municipalities.
The Vision
"Niagara's watersheds will contribute to an improved quality of life for all living things. There will be enough water, of the necessary quality, to sustain healthy rural and urban communities in harmony with a natural environment rich in species diversity. Citizens and neighbours of Niagara will share the responsibility of efficient water use and will respect the long-term sustainability of all our water systems and the life that depends on them".
Key Issues and Strategic Goals
Key Issues
Studies conducted by WaterSmart Niagara identified a number of core issues. These included instances of:
- Unrestricted cattle grazing causing contaminated runoff and sedimentation.
- Acid precipitation and other types of air pollution contaminating surface water.
- Poor land management resulting in flood damage, destruction of property and potential loss of life.
- Combined Sewer Overflows containing both sewage and rainwater, overflowing during a storm and contaminating rivers and lakes.
- Old abandoned landfills lacking systems to prevent contaminants from seeping out to lakes and streams.
- Urban expansion resulting in erosion.
WaterSmart Niagara developed six central themes and goals based on these core issues, listed below:
HUMAN HEALTH: Clean and abundant drinking water for our safe consumption.
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: Water of a sufficient quantity and quality in natural areas like wetlands and streams ensuring healthy plants, species and the integrity of the ecosystem.
FLOODING AND EROSION: Protection for our residential, commercial, industrial and public land uses from detrimental flooding and erosion.
RECREATION: Sufficient, clean water to support and sustain our recreational uses, such as beaches and natural areas.
COMMERCE: Clean and abundant water for commercial users.
AGRICULTURE: Clean and abundant water for agriculture operations.
Direct and Indirect Actions
The strategic plan developed more than 340 actions to be addressed over the next 30 years. These actions were organized into 11 Action Programs:
- Education and Awareness Building
- Watershed and Natural Heritage System Study
- Data Collection and Monitoring
- Land Use Planning
- Regulations and Policies
- Land and Property Management
- Groundwater Study and Protection
- Agricultural Best Practices
- Funding Incentives, Financing and Taxation
- Maintenance, Management, and Repair of Infrastructure and Remediation of Contaminated Sites
- Energy, New Technology and Best Practices
The Action Programs are divided into Direct and Indirect Actions, depending on the nature of the project and the guiding organization.
Direct Actions are new actions to be initiated under the strategy by either the Niagara Region or the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA).
Indirect Actions are those actions that are on-going in the watershed or planned for in the near future. Responsibility for Indirect Actions lies with other existing organizations, supported by WaterSmart Niagara.
