Ontario’s Data Catalogue identifies a total of 124 datasets associated with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP):
- 87 open datasets
- 9 restricted datasets
- 28 datasets under review
(See https://data.ontario.ca/organization/environment-conservation-and-parks)
The following datasets are relevant to GE’s plan to demolish abandoned factory buildings in Peterborough:
- Permit to Take Water (January 1, 1960 – June 30, 2025) – ZIP – XLSX
- Water Taking
- Broadscale Monitoring Program Lake Water Chemistry (2008 – 2023) – CSV
- Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network
- Environmental Occurrences and Spills
- Fish
- Fish Contaminants
- January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2018 – XLSX
- January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2004 – XLSX
- January 1, 1999 – December 31, 2001 – XLSX
- January 1, 1993 – December 31, 1998 – XLSX
- January 1, 1989 – December 31, 1992 – XLSX
- January 1, 1986 – December 31, 1988 – XLSX
- January 1, 1981 – December 31, 1985 – XLSX
- January 1, 1967 – December 31, 1980 – XLSX
- Guide to Eating Ontario Fish: Advisory Database (2025) – ZIP – CSV
- Fish Contaminants
Other promising datasets proved irrelevant, for example:
- Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network (5 Water Wells in Peterborough County, none within City of Peterborough)
- Water levels (January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2024) – ZIP
- Water chemistry (January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2024) – ZIP
- Water wells (January 1, 2001 – December 31, 2023) – SHP – XLSX
- Precipitation (January 1, 2001 – December 31, 2021)
- Lake Ontario Downstream Tributary Water Chemistry Monitoring (January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2023) – XLSX (only GTA)
- Water Chemistry (Great Lakes Nearshore Areas) – Lake Ontario Light Profiles (2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2018) – ZIP (only GLIS)
- Sediment Chemistry (Great Lakes Nearshore Areas) – 2000 – 2023 – CSV (GLIS sites only)
- Inland Lakes and Streams – Water Chemistry (January 1, 1976 – December 31, 2022) – ZIP (only northern sites)
We derive the following data:
Permit to Take Water (January 1, 1960 – June 30, 2025)
Companies or organizations who take over 50,000 litres of water/day from a lake, river, stream or groundwater source, must obtain a Permit to Take Water from the Ministry of the Environment – with a few exceptions. Permit holders are legally required to record how much water they take each day. Data includes: purpose; location; water source (e.g., ground or surface); maximum amount allowed per day; permit number; expiry date of the permit.
[[Lat, Lon ]] [[Re-write to distinguish number of PTTWs and number of Wells/Sources]] The XLSX file contains 20 PTTWs issed to GE between April 21, 2004 and April 5, 2020; only 1 PTTW is shown as active. Most PTTWs were issued for remediation; 2 PTTWs were for taking water from Monitoring Wells 32 & 53 for dewatering construction in April 2020; 2 PTTWs were for dewatering related to “VPI Pit Excavation” in Fall 2013. [WHAT IS VPI PIT EXCAVATION?”]
The file also contains 37 PTTWs issued to Outboard Marine Corporation or its successors between January 25, 2006 and March 15, 2021;
Broadscale Monitoring Program Lake Water Chemistry (2008 – 2023)
“In 2005, the Province of Ontario implemented its Ecological Framework for Recreational Fisheries Management, a component of which was the establishment of standardized, long-term monitoring of the province’s fisheries resource, referred to as Broadscale Monitoring. The Broadscale Monitoring program was initiated in 2008, with the aim of collecting detailed fisheries and water quality information on a five-year cycle from hundreds of lakes across the province. From 2008 to 2019, spring water chemistry samples were obtained from hundreds of lakes in Ontario, ranging from 5 to 250,000 hectares in size using a standard sampling protocol.”
A case-insensitive search for “Little L.” OR “Rice L.”) of Broadscale Monitoring Program Lake Water Chemistry (2008 – 2023) – CSV identified 8 samples from 3 locations on Little Lake from May 13, 2008 to May 10, 2022 and 6 samples from 2 locations on Rice Lake from April 24, 2009 to May 5, 2023. We are publishing xxx – XLSX [“C:\0_GE\Government\Provincial\Open Data Catalogue\MECP_Broadscale-Monitoring-Program-Lake-Water-Chemistry_2008-2023_20260608\MECP_Broadscale-Monitoring-Program-Lake-Water-Chemistry_2008-2023_Little-Lake_Rice-Lake_20260608.xlsx”].