Watershed Security for Ontario

Background  

The OHI is a member of several coalitions and/or supports sister organizations focused on land-use planning, reduced environmental safeguards, restrictions on legal and democratic processes, and the impact that Strong Mayor powers is having on local decision-making and accountability.

Regardless of the result of discussions on these important issues, we perceive each would benefit from a foundational shift from the existing approach to watershed management to a commitment to watershed security: healthy and resilient watersheds that protect regional ecological integrity, social wellbeing, and economic vitality. 

Updates

November 2025    We are pleased to release the educational OHI Watershed Security Poster Nov 2025, which depicts the continuum of watershed security in all sections of a watershed, with reference to the hydrologic cycle, municipal actions to integrate land use and watershed planning, and the need for enhanced stewardship efforts from all sectors and on private lands.

June 2025    A key practical and perhaps the most fundamental way to address the needed shift to watershed security is for municipalities to integrate land-use and watershed planning, for which we have developed the following one-page guidance document with nine recommendations: 

The Municipal Lens for Watershed Security June 24

Coming soon

We are currently working to craft additional lenses to address watershed security for aggregate extraction, the Great Lakes, and agriculture, and have launched the Ontario Coalition for Watershed Security, here.  

You can support the OHI by making a donation via https://ontarioheadwaters.ca/support/