Zoning restrictions around the drinking water supply (watershed) for Saint John protects the city’s water supply from contamination and disruption that might be caused by development activity within the watershed boundaries or catchment basin for the reservoir.
Why this is important. The quality of our drinking water is determined largely by the cleanliness and abundance of our source water. Anything that could affect a drinking water reservoir puts our drinking water, and our community health, at risk.
Storm water runoff that starts in headwater areas eventually discharges into basins (lakes or reservoirs). Sediment and other contaminants (for example, septic field runoff) from developed areas may be discharged into those reservoirs. The creation of impervious surface (asphalt, roofs etc) increases peak water flows; instead of being released slowly, as is the case in a natural forested watershed, faster runoff can cause reservoir levels to fluctuate dramatically with every rainfall, making it difficult to serve the City’s water demand during prolonged periods of drought.
What ZoneSJ gets right. ZoneSJ includes a specific zone, the EP zone, to protect drinking water reservoirs.
Issues and opportunities. The EP zoning that surrounds watershed lands, particularly Latimer Lake, doesn’t go far enough in protecting water supply from outside influences (such as erosion and other pollutants, contaminants etc.) from development (for example, the EP zoning follows the property boundary and not the actual watershed boundary).
This is especially important for rural development, since the proposed land uses under the draft bylaw are inconsistent with drinking water quality.
Cheat sheet for your feedback. If you want to provide feedback on this issue, feel free to use or edit the statements below:
Simple version
Ensure that ZoneSJ protects our drinking water as much as possible from inappropriate land use.
More detailed version
Amend ZoneSJ to protect all land within the actual watershed boundary, especially headwater lands (due to their influence on water quality).
The deadline for your feedback to the City on ZoneSJ is Friday November 29th. Submit your input to (via webform, or in writing to planning@saintjohn.ca). And copy your councillors.