Water Act
The Water Act was passed in the legislature in fall 2017. Since then, regulations have been developed to put the legislation into practice.
Where can I get more information on water resources on PEI?
You can visit the new website - On The Level
Background on consultations to-date
The first three sets of regulations, the Proposed Water Withdrawal Regulations, the Proposed Well Construction Regulations and the Proposed Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Systems Regulations were open for consultation in 2019. The proposed regulations and plain language documents remain available for each set of regulations below:
- Proposed Water Withdrawal Regulations
- Proposed Well Construction Regulations
- Proposed Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Systems Regulations
A fourth regulation set, the Sewage Disposal Systems Regulations, are being moved from the Environmental Protection Act to the Water Act. There are no significant changes to these regulations.
As part of the consultation on the Water Withdrawal Regulations, four public meetings were held in the fall of 2019. The Water Withdrawal Regulations Consultation Report was prepared to summarize the information government received.
How was the Water Act created?
A white paper was released in 2015 followed by public consultations conducted by the Environmental Advisory Council (EAC). Visit A Water Act for PEI website for information from the 2015 consultations and the EAC 2016 Water Act Public Consultation Report.
Additional public consultations occurred during the spring of 2017 on draft legislation. From the consultations, government developed the Water Act that was passed in 2017.
Companion documents and comments from the 2017 consultation process and the development of the Water Act are available below:
- Water Act - Policy Framework – Explains the policies and background that formulate the construction of the draft Act.
- Water Act Public Consultation Meetings Presentation – The government presentation from the public consultation meetings.
- Addressing the Recommendations from the EAC Water Act Public Consultations – Identification of the parts of the draft Act where recommendations from the 2016 Water Act Public Consultation Report have been addressed.
- Water Act - highlighted version – This document shows the changes that have been made as a result of public consultation.
- Inside the Water Act – A summary document that explains the components of the draft Act.
- Water Act Section Summary – A quick summary of the various sections of the Water Act.
- Water Act Presentation – A presentation regarding the Water Act.
- Comments from the 2017 consultation process.