Halton Region Source Protection Area

The Halton Region Source Protection Area lies on the north shore at the western end of Lake Ontario. It includes an area of approximately 970 square kilometres, stretching from the City of Mississauga in the east to the City of Hamilton in the west, and north to the Township of Puslinch and the Town of Halton Hills. In addition, because it juts 50 kilometres into Lake Ontario to the international border, the Area includes approximately 590 square kilometres of Great Lakes water.

Ten upper and lower tier municipalities have lands within the Source Protection Area; however, only the Regional Municipality of Halton (Halton Region) and the City of Hamilton (Hamilton) operate municipal water systems within the Source Protection Area. Portions of municipalities located within the Source Protection Area are supplied water from drinking water systems located in neighbouring areas. In total, these municipal water systems supply 94 percent of the population within the source protection area with reliable, clean drinking water. There are two sources of water that supply municipal systems – 88 percent from Lake Ontario and 6 percent from groundwater. Private systems, including wells and cisterns, provide water to the remaining 6 percent of the population.

The Halton Region Source Protection Area consists of three large watersheds and 19 small watersheds. The headwater areas of the three large watersheds – Grindstone Creek, Bronte Creek, and Sixteen Mile Creek – form the majority of the surface water divide between this and neighbouring source protection areas. The 19 small watersheds are located along the north shores of Lake Ontario, Hamilton Harbour, and Cootes Paradise.

Halton Region Source Protection Area Municipalities and Drinking Water Sources

Upper Tier Municipality	Lower Tier Municipality	Area Within Halton Source Protection Area [km2]	Population in Source Protection Area1	Percentage of Population in Source Protection Area on Municipal Water Supply2
County of Wellington	Township of Puslinch	30	854	0
Regional Municipality of Halton	Town of Halton Hills	132	10,152	64
Regional Municipality of Halton	Town of Milton	311	83,082	83
Regional Municipality of Halton	Town of Oakville	133	177,262	99
Regional  Municipality  of Halton	City of Burlington	187	175,755	97
Region of Peel	City of Mississauga	11	42,733	99
City of Hamilton		166	20,269	60

Notes:

1. Populations are based on Statistics Canada Population Census 2011..
2. The municipal water systems supplying the populations of the City of Mississauga and portions of the cities of Hamilton and Burlington and the Town of Halton Hills are not located within the Source Protection Area.