WC148 MayJune 2026 - Magazine - Page 32
WATER MANAGEMENT
Why this matters for policy
Several practical lessons follow from this work. First, Ontario’s
open water data should be treated as a strategic governance
and policy resource, not just a transparency exercise. These
datasets make it possible to statistically and geospatially
identify high-demand regions, sectoral
concentrations, and changing patterns over
time. Second, groundwater needs to be
Ultimately, permit records are about much more than paperwork.
much more visible in policy and manageThey reveal how water supports agriculture, infrastructure,
ment discussions, especially in southern
Ontario where dependence is concentrated
industry, construction, and community water supply across Ontario.
and climate pressures may intensify. Third,
the province would benefit from strengthening data collection, classification and
What the reported water use data adds
quality, particularly related to growing use of categories like
The Reported Water Use dataset adds another layer to the story. In
water supply and miscellaneous. Fourth, new categories and
2020, it contained 10,406 reporting entries. Of these, 5,638 recordclassifications of water takings data should be considered in
ed actual use, 4,334 recorded zero use, and 434 were incomplete. At
the context of climate change and emerging uses such as data
the permit level, 5,326 active permits reported water use in 2020,
centers. Fifth, stronger linkages between permit and reported
including 3,469 that recorded actual withdrawals. Those numbers
use data sets focused on reporting compliance and more timely
are useful, but they also reveal an important limitation: the permit
release of reporting information would significantly enhance
and reported use datasets are not cleanly linked through a single,
the ability to analyze and use open water datasets.
consistent identifier. That makes province-wide matching and comThere is also a larger lesson for Canada. Ontario’s open datapliance assessment more difficult than it should be.
sets make this kind of research and analysis possible in other
Even with that limitation, the reported use data still helps
parts of the country; the same research framework and methclarify where demand pressures may be greatest. It shows that
odologies can be adapted in other jurisdictions and watersheds
actual withdrawals are unevenly distributed across sectors, and
as more water permit and use data become open and available.
that the relationship between permit counts and water volumes is
The combination of permit analysis, geospatial mapping, and
not always straightforward. In the 2020 reported use data, Water
reported water use analysis offers a practical method for unSupply and Industrial categories account for the largest total
derstanding who uses water, where pressures are concentrated,
reported withdrawals, with much of that volume drawn from
and how policy could respond more effectively.
surface water. By contrast, Dewatering and Dewatering ConUltimately, permit records are about much more than
struction show a stronger groundwater profile, and Agricultural
paperwork. They reveal how water supports agriculture,
and Commercial uses draw on a more mixed balance of sources.
infrastructure, industry, construction, and community water
That matters for policy because it shows that sectoral water pressupply across Ontario. They show where groundwater is
sure is shaped not just by how many permits exist, but by how
quietly carrying a significant share of our water use burden.
much water is actually withdrawn and from which source.
They demonstrate why open, transparent, and better-connected data matters for sustainable water governance. Moving
from permits to policy means using this information not only
to understand past and present water use, but to make better
decisions about Ontario’s water future.
policies. The permit data makes that reliance much harder to overlook. It points to the need for more integrated policy and management approaches that treat groundwater as a central part of Ontario’s
water future rather than a secondary or hidden resource.
FURTHER READING
Saadi, S. and C.Johns 2026. “From Permits to Policy: Insights from
a Comprehensive Analysis of Ontario’s Water Use Data 19602022”, Canadian Water Resources Journal, 1-34.
Saadi, S., C.Johns and D.Parades 2025. “Groundwater Use in Ontario:
An Analysis of Open Data”, Canadian Water Resources Journal, 1-30.
FIGURE 5. REPORTED WATER USE BY PURPOSE CATEGORY AND SOURCE, 2020.
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WATER C AN ADA • M AY/JUNE 2026
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
