RIDEAU VALLEY, Nov. 17, 2022 – More than 30 Eastern Ontario mayors have endorsed a Conservation Authority letter to the province expressing concerns with provincial Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act.

The letter, written by 10 Eastern Ontario CAs, was sent to Premier Doug Ford and relevant cabinet ministers earlier today. 

“We are overwhelmed and incredibly grateful for the support we have received from local municipalities,” said Sommer Casgrain-Robertson, General Manager of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. “It was disheartening that this bill only had a 30-day consultation period given the magnitude of the proposed changes and that this short consultation period fell during the turnover of municipal councils.” 

In their letter, the Eastern Ontario CAs outline six key concerns with the bill and how the changes will negatively impact local development review processes, download new responsibilities to municipalities, increase costs to taxpayers, increase the risk of flooding, erosion and slope failure and damage the local environment. 

But the CAs also provide recommendations to the province of how to improve Bill 23 and call for meaningful consultation with CAs, municipalities, and the development and agricultural sectors to identify real solutions that will increase housing without having unintended and irreversible consequences. 

It is well understood that water flows across municipal boundaries – and so do the impacts of development. That’s why over the past 70 years, municipalities have formed 36 CAs across Ontario to assess and understand the cumulative impact of development within each watershed. At a time when climate change is causing more frequent and intense storm events, the role of CAs has never been more critical.

Learn more:

• Eastern Ontario Conservation Authority Joint Letter to Premier Ford, Minister Clark, Minister Smith and Minister Piccini (PDF)
• RVCA Responds to Province’s More Homes Built Faster Act

Provide input on the proposed changes through the Environmental Registry of Ontario:

• Proposed updates to the regulation of development for the protection of people and property from natural hazards in Ontario (ERO number 019-2927)
• Legislative and regulatory proposals affecting conservation authorities to support the Housing Supply Action Plan 3.0 (ERO number 019-6141)

Consider sending our sample letter to your local MPP:

• Sample letter regarding Bill 23 impacts to Conservation Authorities (Word Document)

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The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is the lead intermunicipal agency working to address water- related environmental issues and concerns within the Rideau Valley watershed. Thanks to our many partners, the scope of our environmental protection work includes planning, source water protection, tackling flooding and erosion problems and researching water movement and use in the valley. We help people maintain healthy shorelines, provide advice on development-related issues and report to municipalities, agencies and the public about watershed conditions and trends. We also provide public access to natural waterfront areas, deliver community-based stewardship programs, reduce water pollution and protect fish and wildlife habitat.

Water Resources Engineer - NATURAL HAZARDS

Permanent Full-time (35 hours per week) 

$79,333 to $94,941 annual salary (plus pension and benefits)

Our offices are located in a suburban area just south of Ottawa where public transportation is limited. Candidates should ensure they have reliable transportation prior to applying. 

Reporting to the Director of Science and Engineering, you will be responsible for managing hazardous lands and erosion hazards programs for the RVCA.  Broadly, this includes implementing all aspects of the programs, routinely providing professional advice, supervising staff involvement in projects, data collection and reporting, producing and revising policies and procedures, providing peer review services and managing external consultants. You will work closely with RVCA’s management team, planning and regulations staff and collaborate with staff across the organization to achieve success in program management.

As the ideal candidate, you hold a degree specializing in environmental / civil / geological engineering with a concentration in geotechnical, geomorphological assessment. You are a licensed professional engineer (P.Eng.) and you have a minimum five years’ experience with related watershed engineering projects involving complex project management, fluvial geomorphological and geotechnical slope stability site characterization, reading and interpreting engineering and technical drawings and documents. You are proficient with computer applications, especially Microsoft Office and GIS mapping programs. You have a flexible schedule and can work outside normal office hours as required. You have excellent English verbal and written communication skills. You must be physically capable of navigating difficult terrain and have a valid G class Ontario driver’s license (or equivalent) with an acceptable driving record.

If you have a strong commitment to championing protection of the environment and the safeguarding of land and water resources, please send your resume and covering letter via email no later than 4:00pm October 11, 2024 to: 

Download job ad here.
Download job description here.  

Visit us on the web at www.rvca.ca/careers

The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is an equal opportunity employer. The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applications; however, we will contact only those candidates selected for consideration.  We are committed to providing accommodations for people with disabilities. If you are selected for an interview and you require an accommodation, we will work with you to meet your needs.

RVCA Responds to Province’s More Homes Built Faster Act

RIDEAU VALLEY, Nov. 10, 2022 – Taxpayers, municipalities and our natural systems will bear the costs of the Province’s affordable housing legislation released last month.

While the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority strongly supports efforts to address the ongoing housing crisis, many of the proposed changes related to conservation authorities will have significant impacts and costs while doing little to increase housing supply. 

“Improvements to the system must never be at the expense of protecting people and their properties from flooding, erosion and slope failures, or protecting the very features that reduce these risks such as wetlands,” said Sommer Casgrain-Robertson, General Manager of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.

Proposed changes and their impacts:

• Weakening the regulatory ability of CAs to protect people and property from natural hazards like flooding, erosion and slope failures - leading to greater risk of property damage and public safety.
• Eliminating the CA’s ability to address water quality issues through planning and permitting, leading to increased nutrients and sediment in lakes and rivers. We know from the 1990s this causes excessive weed growth and algae blooms that have economic impacts on property values, agriculture, tourism, recreation, fisheries and sources of drinking water for many residents.
• Reducing wetland evaluations and protections, leading to increased flooding, erosion and drought, as well as diminished groundwater, which is the source of drinking water in much of rural Ontario. Studies have shown the loss of wetlands in the Rideau watershed would increase flood levels by 10%.
• Downloading more responsibilities to municipalities who have indicated will lead to inefficiencies, delays and increased risk and costs.
• Freezing development fees, which will pass development costs to taxpayers instead of growth paying for growth. 

“We are calling on the Provincial Government to reconvene their multi-stakeholder Conservation Authorities Working Group to consider the impacts of these proposed changes,” said Casgrain-Robertson, who is a sitting member of the working group. “The working group has proven it can provide effective recommendations to government that increase housing supply without jeopardizing public safety, dismissing natural systems or downloading additional responsibilities to municipalities.” 

The Ontario Association of Municipalities (AMO) shared similar concerns, stating “many of the proposed amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act and the Planning Act in Bill 23 are concerning, as they signal a move away from environmental protection at a time when climate change impacts are being felt more at the local level. Bill 23 proposes sweeping changes to the regulatory responsibilities of Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities that, if passed, will undermine the collaborative and productive changes put forward by the Ministry led Conservation Authority Working Group over the past two years”.

It is well understood that water flows across municipal boundaries – and so do the impacts of development. That’s why over the past 70 years, municipalities have formed 36 CAs across Ontario to assess and understand the cumulative impact of development within each watershed. At a time when climate change is causing more frequent and intense storm events, the role of CAs has never been more critical.

“CAs have proven they are not a barrier to development, but rather facilitate sound and reasonable growth,” said Pieter Leenhouts, Chair of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. “They have been modernizing their policies and procedures, streamlining approvals, reducing timelines, meeting and reporting on service standards and promoting pre-consultation with applicants to provide the best service possible to municipalities, communities, residents and developers.”

Not a barrier:

• The Province’s “Housing Affordability Task Force Report” introduced 55 recommendations to increase the housing supply in Ontario, and CAs were not named within the report. 
• CAs save municipalities and developers time and money, as the cost-efficient CA system allows member municipalities to share the expertise of CA hydrogeologists, biologists and engineering staff to review planning applications instead of each hiring their own – a huge savings for taxpayers. 
• CAs also save the Province and taxpayers money by reducing the financial impacts of severe flooding like Eastern Ontario experienced in 2017 and 2019. The province’s own Special Advisor on Flooding, Doug McNeil, in his 2019 report found that Ontario’s unique CA system remains the fundamental reason why Ontario has not seen the same catastrophic flooding impacts in the billions of dollars as Alberta and BC, which do not have CAs to direct development away from high-risk areas.

“CAs are recognized as a cost-efficient, collaborative partner,” said Casgrain-Robertson. “We are committed to helping Ontario meet its housing goals by ensuring safe and sustainable development that balances the needs of people and the environment, the economy, and local ecology.”

For more information about the RVCA and CA roles and responsibilities, visit www.rvca.ca.

To learn more, or to provide input on the proposed changes, visit the Environmental Registry of Ontario for these Notices:

• Proposed updates to the regulation of development for the protection of people and property from natural hazards in Ontario (ERO number 019-2927)
• Legislative and regulatory proposals affecting conservation authorities to support the Housing Supply Action Plan 3.0 (ERO number 019-6141)

ERO 019-2927 also includes a Consultation Guide on how to provide your input.

To read Bill 23, visit the Ontario Legislative Assembly at this web page at Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022

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EASTERN ONTARIO, Oct. 17, 2022 – The Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Region (MRSPR) has released an interactive StoryMap exploring threats to our region’s highly vulnerable aquifers – and what we can do about them. 

Readers of all backgrounds and interest levels can use the new StoryMap to explore risks to groundwater through its digital maps, charts and photos.
 
“Whether you’re interested in the geology behind our groundwater system, the impacts of contamination on your family or what you can do about it, our new StoryMap offers a choose-your-own-adventure to explore a huge range of information,” said Rideau Valley Conservation Authority groundwater scientist Claire Milloy, who wrote and designed the digital product on behalf of the MRSPR. 

About 90% of drinking water aquifers across the Mississippi and Rideau watersheds are considered highly vulnerable to contamination. These aquifers have very little protection from surface soils, which are necessary to filter chemicals, nutrients and other pollutants out of surface runoff as it trickles down from above. 

Cracks in the exposed bedrock can allow contaminants from industrial, agricultural and residential activities to easily enter the groundwater below - and they're sometimes impossible to clean up.  

The StoryMap and its accompanying resources were developed in accordance with an MRSPR policy encouraging groundwater threat awareness.  
  
The education package also includes a series of “action sheets” highlighting best practices for homes and businesses, a three-part animated video series developed by the Spring Ridge Training Institute, and an extensive scientific bibliography intended for scientists, researchers, planners and engineers. 
 
“We sincerely hope these resources will help shed some much-needed light on the risks facing our local groundwater supplies,” said Milloy, P. Geo. “It only takes a few minutes to contaminate an aquifer, but it can take hundreds of years to undo the damage – if it can be undone at all.” 
 
The 8,500 km2 MRSPR is one of 19 in Ontario created under the Clean Water Act of 2006, which now operate through local conservation authorities. The MRSPR encompasses the watersheds of the Mississippi and Rideau rivers, and is jointly administered by the Rideau Valley and Mississippi Valley conservation authorities as well as a multi-stakeholder Source Protection Committee.  
 
To learn more about highly vulnerable aquifers visit www.mrsourcewater.ca. 
 

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