Local advocates want to see a ‘Blue Belt’ created to protect groundwater
Posted Jan 28, 2026 03:47:51 PM.
While Waterloo Regional Council weighs its options to address the water capacity issue, a local not-for-profit is advocating for a permanent solution.
Citizens for Safe Ground Water (CSGW) is based in Wilmot Township and is dedicated to protecting local groundwater sources, namely the Waterloo Moraine.
The group would like to see the province create a “Blue Belt” that would encompass the moraine. It would work in the same way the Green Belt works to protect vulnerable habitats and farmland from development.
“Ground water is our lifeline here in Waterloo Region, and the Waterloo Moraine is the heartbeat,” said Rory Farnan, secretary, CSGW, while a guest on The Mike Farwell Show. “Protecting our water at the source is non-negotiable at this point and really necessary for generations to come.”
Farnan said CSGW recognizes the importance and inevitability of growth across the region and in no way are they against development.
“We’re not suggesting that growth can’t happen, we’re not blocking housing. What we’re asking is that it’s steered in the right places. Areas that are serviced already, brownfields, infill and intensification, which are things we are doing today,” said Farnan.
He went on to say, “We’ve seen with other legislation, like with the Green Belt, like the Oak Ridges Moraine, where models have shown that protecting sensitive areas doesn’t stop communities from meeting the housing needs, but growth must adapt to water limits, not the other way around and that’s the way we’re currently doing things today.”
Farnan said the province hasn’t helped: it’s stepped in numerous times to override local regulations and protections in the name of development.
“The region has been a leader, certainly over the last several decades, in trying to protect our groundwater assets because they understand the importance of it. But, unfortunately, time and time again we see examples where it gets curtailed.”
Farnan said don’t mistake the group’s concern as the musings of bleeding hearts; they’re realists who understand the urgency of the moment.
“For anyone that may look at this as environmentalism or a drastic reaction, well, we’re in a water crisis,” said Farnan. “We have to prioritize, not only what’s going to help us build in the future, but what we need today. There are 600,000 people living in this region today who rely on this system.”
Regional Council will meet on Wednesday evening, and the options for addressing the water capacity issue will be discussed.
