Region asks province to pause private water permits amidst capacity issue
Posted Mar 26, 2026 07:41:04 AM.
Last Updated Mar 26, 2026 09:49:06 AM.
The Region of Waterloo is asking the province to pause new and expanded water taking permits in the Mannheim Service Area as it searches for solutions to a water capacity issue.
A motion from Councillor Joe Gowing was unanimously approved at a council meeting on Wednesday.
According to Gowing, there are 65 active water taking permits within the Mannheim Service Area, pumping up to 740 million litres of water each day. Of that, 268 million litres per day is from private permits issued by the province.
Private water taking permits are issued by the provincial government for requests where the individual or company is looking to pump at least 50,000 litres of water per day.
Gowing says there is a “need for a precautionary and cumulative aquifer-level review of private permitted water takings to prevent the risk of interference to existing municipal and private water supplies, and to safeguard groundwater resources for both the natural environment and potential future use for municipal water supply.”
The region had paused new development after learning of the water capacity issues in the Mannheim Service Area. But it has since decided to use up to 50 per cent of unbuilt, planned water capacity currently under construction, with completion dates in the next five years, to resume development and the approvals of applications already received from developers.
The region’s ask of the provincial government is a moratorium on issuing or expanding private sector water-taking permits within the Mannheim Service Area until the region’s Water Supply Strategy Update is completed.
The region will deal with whether or not to suspend a decades-old agreement limiting how much water it can take from Wilmot Township at a special council meeting on April 8.
