Conservation and Environment

The Town of Deseronto is committed to protecting our natural environment through shoreline stewardship, source water protection, and environmental conservation. As part of this commitment, the Town is a member municipality of Quinte Conservation.

Quinte Conservation is a community-based environmental protection agency serving 18 municipalities within the watersheds of the Moira, Napanee, and Salmon Rivers, as well as Prince Edward County. Working in partnership with municipalities, landowners, and community organizations, Quinte Conservation helps protect and manage our local water resources and natural environment for future generations.

Services Provided by Quinte Conservation

Quinte Conservation offers a wide range of programs and services, including:

  • Shoreline and waterfront protection

  • Source water protection planning

  • Flood forecasting and flood warning

  • Watershed management

  • Development permit review and natural hazard regulation

  • Tree planting and habitat restoration

  • Stewardship and environmental education programs

  • Drinking water source protection initiatives

  • Wetland and natural heritage conservation

Residents planning construction, shoreline work, grading, or development near watercourses, wetlands, floodplains, or regulated areas may require approval from Quinte Conservation in addition to municipal permits.

For more information about Quinte Conservation's programs, services, maps, and permit requirements, please visit their website or contact their office directly.

Planning and Permits

In an effort to protect the watershed Quinte Conservation may require permits for various development projects.

For more information regarding permit requirements visit their website. - Open QC

Phone - 613-968-3434

The Source Water Protection 

Drinking Water Source Protection

Certain activities, when carried out near a drinking water source, can pose a threat to that water source. Ontario’s Clean Water Act, 2006 calls for Source Protection Plans to be developed in order to protect public water sources.

The Plan for the Quinte Region was approved by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change with an effective date of January 1, 2015.

What are sources of drinking water?

In the Quinte Region, municipalities obtain water for municipal distribution and public use from both groundwater and surface water sources.

  • Groundwater is drawn from wells drilled into an underlying aquifer, which is the water source.

  • Surface water sources include lakes, rivers and bays such as the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, Roblin Lake and the Napanee River. Surface water is drawn through intakes (pipes) in the surface water.

What is the Source Protection Plan?

The Quinte Region Source Protection Plan directs local efforts to protect and keep the sources of municipal water clean and plentiful. The Plan includes policies, developed in consultation with the local community, to address drinking water threats identified in the science-based Assessment Report.

The goal of the Source Protection Plan is to protect existing and future municipal drinking water sources in the Quinte Region and to ensure that any activities identified as a significant drinking water threat cease to be a threat and that other activities do not become a significant threat to the water source.

For More Information: Quinte Sourcewater