PEI to Introduce a Water Act

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The Prince Edward Island government will be introducing a new water act. According the government, it will provide a modern, comprehensive legislative and policy framework to ensure the sustainable management of the provinces water resources.

The proposed water act will create new legislation for areas such as groundwater allocation, discharges into fresh and marine water environments, and mandate targets for water quality. At present, there are various pieces of legislation, regulations and policies in place, but no comprehensive set of water policies embodied in one piece of legislation. The new water act will address that need.

The development of a water act was one of the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry following its consultations earlier this year on high capacity wells for agriculture irrigation purposes.

The act will address a wide range of matters related to the supply and quality of water, including drinking and waste water facilities, conservation and watercourse and wetland protection.

As part of the process for developing the water act, a white paper will be released, public consultations will be carried out by an arms-length group and a review of legislation in other jurisdictions will be undertaken. The work will begin immediately.

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