How were recent laws in Ontario governing water developed?
Until the summer of 2000, the primary laws governing the use and quality of waters in Ontario were the Ontario Water Resources Act, and the Environmental Protection Act. These two laws were used during the 1970s and 1980s to address point sources of water pollution and to regulate the discharge of contaminants into water. Rather than creating a single comprehensive statute governing water, the Ontario government generally used these two Acts to address problems as they arose. For example, a program to regulate wastewater discharges from various industrial sectors, called the Municipal Industrial Strategy for Abatement (“MISA”), was put into effect using the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act. In May 2000, however, a decisive event occurred in the province. In the small rural town of Walkerton, Ontario, deadly bacteria carried in animal manure, including the lethal E. coli 0157:H7, infiltrated the public water supply and contaminated the drinking water. Seven people died fro
