C-6.2 - Act to affirm the collective nature of water resources and to promote better governance of water and associated environments

Section 13.1 Disposition versions

2017-06-16

13.1. The Minister may define major directions for integrated, concerted water resource management.

In addition, the Minister must prepare and submit to the Government the directions and objectives to be pursued to protect wetlands and bodies of water, so as to ensure and enhance the various benefits they bring, in particular by performing the following functions:

(1)  acting as a pollution filter, controlling erosion and retaining sediments by, among other things, preventing and reducing surface water and groundwater pollution and sediment input;

(2)  acting as a regulator of water levels by retaining meteoric water and meltwater and allowing part of it to evaporate, thereby reducing the risk of flooding and erosion and promoting groundwater recharge;

(3)  conserving the biological diversity that enables the wetlands and bodies of water or the ecosystems to provide living species with habitats in which to feed, find cover and reproduce;

(4)  acting as a sun screen and natural wind-shield by maintaining vegetation, which prevents excessive warming of water and protects soils and crops from wind damage;

(5)  sequestering carbon and mitigating the impacts of climate change; and

(6)  protecting the quality of the landscape by preserving the natural character of a site and the attributes of the countryside associated with it, thus enhancing the value of adjacent land.

2017, c. 14, s. 7.