Source Water Protection
Source water is untreated water from streams, rivers, lakes, or underground aquifers (groundwater) that is used to supply public drinking water. Source water protection maintains or improves the quality of source water before it reaches a water treatment plant.
To protect this water, the Municipality of Inverness County has Source Water Protection Committees for six of its municipal water supply areas:
- Chéticamp
- Inverness
- Judique
- Mabou
- Port Hood
- Whycocomagh
Although the municipality provides water services to the Town of Port Hastings, that water supply comes from the Town of Port Hawkesbury.
Source water protection is a proactive approach to protecting drinking water and public health. Although water is a renewable resource, there are limits to its quality and quantity. The quality of our drinking water sources can be threatened by contaminants introduced by human activity. To protect our source water, we must manage the human activity that creates these threats.
Source Water Protection Committees:
- Conduct business by consensus.
- Review and make recommendations on all activities or policy issues within the Source Water Protection Areas.
- Review and comment on water monitoring programs and other studies related to the Source Water Protection Areas.
- Provide advice on protection options regarding potential sources of contamination and any water concerns of stakeholder grounds.
- Develop water protection information and educational programs in conjunction with the Municipality for local residents, landowners, and users of the Source Water Protection Areas.
If you are interested in where your drinking water comes from and in working to protect it for future generations, consider joining your Source Water Protection Committee.
Learn more here.
Apply to the committee here.
If you have questions, contact the Public Works Department at 1-866-258-0223, option 4 or email publicworks@invernesscounty.ca.