Golf courses put strain on Ontario Moraine: report
Golf courses are draining Ontario's water resources and the province is doing little to prevent it, according to a new report authored by eco watchdog groups (Earthroots and Ecojustice - ed).
The report, titled Ontario's Water Hazard, concludes that nine golf courses dotting the environmentally sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine are taking more than three billion of litres of water each year...
The Moraine is under constant pressure from more than 60 courses on the land or within five kilometres of it. However, it's not just the water supply that's being strained, the report notes. Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides typically used to maintain golf courses all pose an environmental threat...
The McGuinty government makes claims to some improvements since the Harris government gutted a lot of the regulatory and watchdog agencies.
The report makes several recommendations to help protect the environment from the strain. They include:To download the entire report- click here.
- Making sure that enough resources are in place to successfully implement a water protection framework.
- Allowing a review on the Permit To Take Water laws and policies to ensure consistency and transparency.
- Having development proposals reviewed by a joint panels of the Ontario Municipal Board and the Environmental Review Tribunal.
- Prohibiting new or expanding golf course development on the Oak Ridges Moraine.
- On areas where development is deemed acceptable, golf courses should have to abide by strict standards.
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