Discussion Wilmot Water Pact Down the Drain

This was the headline of a story in the KW Record Thursday April 9. A 1980 Region of Waterloo policy that restricts the amount of groundwater that can be pumped out of the aquifers beneath Wilmot Township has been rescinded. This policy was enacted years ago to stop overpumping of ground water and sending it to the cities, while wells ran dry in the rural areas. The staff asked councillors to rescind the policy , saying it was created before provincial government safeguards existed, protecting groundwater supplies. They even said that they may need to take even more water from Wilmot in the future. Wilmot Mayor Natasha Salonen had proposed that the policy be reviewed before being revoked. Her motion also called for data to be made public on a regular basis on the health of the aquifer, total volume of water being taken and well performance indicators if more water is taken from Wilmot. But the councillors didn't agree with her that the policy should be reiewed and decided to ditch it all together.

On Friday April 10, Luisa D'Amato wrote an article entitled "We're not just low on water : We're also low on trust." The regional staff broke their employer's own policy by quietly taking groundwater out of Wilmot and diverting the water to the KW urban area. She stated, "If you don't like the rules you have to abide by, here's an easy way out : first break the rules. Next, get them taken off the books." There are now 22 people and business owners in rural Wilmot who have reported problems of malfunctioning wells and other water supply concerns. The Region of Waterloo offers compensation of $4000. to some property owners if the problems are thought to be caused by municipal pumping. According to an expert the cost for a deeper well could be closer to $30,000.

Has the public been told everything that is going on with the water crisis? Are we still being kept in the dark? Are the right decisions being made by councilors being advised by staff? Who was responsible for what actions? We must follow this story carefully. I agree that we are definetly low on trust. - Luisa D'Amato Opinion LDAMATO@THERECORD.Com

SharonM said:

This was the headline of a story in the KW Record Thursday April 9. A 1980 Region of Waterloo policy that restricts the amount of groundwater that can be pumped out of the aquifers beneath Wilmot Township has been rescinded. This policy was enacted years ago to stop overpumping of ground water and sending it to the cities, while wells ran dry in the rural areas. The staff asked councillors to rescind the policy , saying it was created before provincial government safeguards existed, protecting groundwater supplies. They even said that they may need to take even more water from Wilmot in the future. Wilmot Mayor Natasha Salonen had proposed that the policy be reviewed before being revoked. Her motion also called for data to be made public on a regular basis on the health of the aquifer, total volume of water being taken and well performance indicators if more water is taken from Wilmot. But the councillors didn't agree with her that the policy should be reiewed and decided to ditch it all together....

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This is exactly why people don’t trust regional government anymore. You can’t quietly break your own rules and then just erase them like nothing happened.

And the compensation part is honestly insulting. $4000 doesn’t even scratch the surface if someone has to redo their entire well.

What bothers me most is that they rejected the idea to review the policy first. That was the reasonable middle ground and they still said no.

CristianB said:

What bothers me most is that they rejected the idea to review the policy first. That was the reasonable middle ground and they still said no.

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Right, because a review would force transparency. Skipping that step tells you everything about how confident they are in their decisions.

I think the bigger issue is long term. If they’re already saying they might take even more water, what happens to Wilmot in 5 or 10 years?

FickleLogic said:

I think the bigger issue is long term. If they’re already saying they might take even more water, what happens to Wilmot in 5 or 10 years?

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Exactly. This isn’t just about today’s shortages, it’s about sustainability. Once those aquifers are stressed, you don’t just bounce back.

And let’s not ignore the pattern here. Break the rule, then remove it. That’s not governance, that’s damage control.