TIMELINE: Water capacity concerns in Waterloo Region

A water tower for the Region of Waterloo on Dec. 16, 2025.

The Region of Waterloo is looking for ways to boost its water supply.

Council raised capacity concerns in December 2025, noting that it could put constraints on the region’s future growth.

The current water system draws from 100 wells, as well as surface water from the Grand River. Groundwater makes up 75 to 80 per cent of the region’s drinking water, while 20 to 25 per cent comes from the Grand River.

The main problem lies within the Mannheim Service Area, which includes most of Kitchener, Waterloo and Woolwich Township, as well as parts of Cambridge and Wilmot Township.

While Cambridge has a water surplus, its wells are not connected to the Mannheim Service Area.

“We would need something like a big pump to be able to bring things over,” explained Mathieu Goetzke, the acting CAO for the Region of Waterloo. “We don’t have that today because these parts of the system were built together for a different growth, and growth has moved at different pace in these two different parts.”

Here’s where the situation currently stands.

Dec. 4, 2025: The Region of Waterloo announces at a press conference that a review of its water supply strategy has uncovered a capacity issue within the Mannheim Service Area.

Officials warned there wouldn’t be enough water to support one million residents, which the region was expected to reach by 2051.

Officials said a third party would also review their findings.

Dec. 16, 2025: Two community groups call for immediate action to protect the region’s water supply.

“This is very much what we’ve been warning about,” said Kevin Thomason, vice-chair of the Grand River Environmental Network. “Already we’ve seen several of our wells had to be shut down in recent years because the water is saltier than seawater, because the amount of road salt going down on the roads.”

Another group, Citizens for Safe Ground Water, urged immediate action.

“We are suggesting that regional council adopt a motion calling on the province to establish this blue belt in our region, to ensure that the Waterloo Moraine, which is our primary aquifer for drinking water, is provincially recognized as being permanently protected,” said Rory Farnan.

Both groups also asked the region to reevaluate future developments to protect groundwater.

Jan. 5, 2026: Capacity concerns begin to impact proposed projects. At a planning and strategic initiatives meeting, the Zehr Group asked for a zoning amendment to allow construction of three high-rise towers at 808–836 Courtland Avenue East. In response, regional staff asked for a one-week deferral so they could better understand the water issue.

Jan. 6, 2026: The region says their findings have been confirmed by a third-party source and they can’t support new developments until new water sources are identified.

The Mannheim Service Area currently provides water at 1,455 litres per second, while demand is 1,356 litres per second or about 93 per cent of the total. The region said that is not enough of an operational resiliency. They want a 20 per cent buffer for when infrastructure goes offline for repairs, spills or other emergencies. It is also needed for any future expansion of water treatment plants.

Jan. 7, 2026: One local developer shared his reaction to the water capacity crisis.

“It feels like a bit of a broken system, to be honest,” said Stephen Litt, the chief development officer at Vive Development. “It’s deeply concerning when something like that becomes apparent, that our government was not tracking, following modeling properly.”

“This really did come as a surprise to, all of us, including members of regional council, but also, area municipalities,” explained Kitchener Mayor and Regional Councillor Berry Vrbanovic. “Our obligation is, as a local area council, is really to ensure that the planning applications coming before us are considered in a timely manner, that they can move forward. And we will now look to see how, in light of the region’s news, we can continue doing the work that we’re obligated to do in a way that respects the concerns that they’ve raised.”

Litt said Vive has already pulled some of their permits, but they also have contingency plans.

“We have to protect us, we have to protect our investors,” he told CTV News. “We put a full stop on all activity in the region, except for anything that was literally in construction or about to start. [We’re] fortunate to have projects in Milton, Guelph, St. Catharines and a few other communities that also desperately need rental stock. We’ll focus our attention there until the region can get its act together.”

Jan. 12, 2026: Kitchener council approves the zoning amendment for Courtland Avenue East, along with a holding provision. According to the city’s director of development and housing approvals, it would prevent any new construction until a water analysis study has been approved, or the region has the infrastructure in place to support the project.

Jan. 13, 2026: Several local development projects are left in limbo, including Waterloo Region’s new hospital. Another is the construction of 12 towers at the former Kraus Factory property in north Waterloo, with more than 3,000 residential units.

A coalition of 17 developers asks regional council to create a Water Capacity Task Force, focused on finding solutions and communicating directly with developers and builders. The group, calling itself Urban Build, said they have been fielding questions about future projects from both investors and banks.

Similar concerns are raised by the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce and Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. In a joint letter to regional council, they said they have heard a “multitude of concerns” from members and noted there could be a negative economic impact in many sectors, including housing, construction, trades, retail and education. Both called on council to lift the pause on local development projects.

Jan. 15, 2026: The region promises it is “not leaving any stone unturned” in its quest to boost water capacity.

“We’ll look at small contributions to the water supply as well as large, non-incremental solutions and recognize sometimes the smaller ones are a little easier to bring on quickly,” explained Rod Regier, the commissioner of planning, development and legislative services.

The region also confirmed the province was now involved in the process.

Jan. 28, 2026: Regional council reviewed potential solutions to address the water capacity crisis, such as piloting new modular technology at the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant, adding infrastructure (such as a new pumping station), reallocating water supply, expanding the existing well supply, and immediate investment in repairing existing infrastructure.

Delegates also voiced their concerns to council, including members of Build Urban, Kevin Thomason with the Grand River Environmental Network, and residents against the Wilmot Land Assembly process.

Councillors were tasked with reviewing a lengthy report on the proposed options. Their recommendations will be presented in March.

Feb 6, 2026: Regional council approves a plan to temporarily increase capacity at the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant. H2Ontario Inc., out of Oakville, Ont., will install three ultrafiltration containers to address the existing sedimentation capacity constraint. When the system is up and running, it could add up to 300 litres per second to the region’s current supply.

The cost of the work is estimated at $15,162,200. The region said initial funding would come from the Water Capital Reserve while they work to find other options.

Staff hope the first container will be installed by June 2026.

Feb 9, 2026: Wilmot Township council passes a motion aimed at protecting its local water source as the Region of Waterloo considers drawing more groundwater from wells within the township.

Doing so would require changes to a water-sharing agreement that has been in place since 1980.

The motion to protect local water sources was approved during Monday night’s council meeting.

Wilmot Township Mayor Natasha Salonen said the township wants any changes to the agreement to be temporary.

“What I am going to be asking for is that right now, [we] temporarily suspend what the water taking policy is from 1980 and then regional council can reassess it when they have all of that additional information and in the meantime, that does allow for growth,” she said.

Salonen said the issue will be discussed at a regional council meeting on Tuesday, where she plans to bring forward a similar motion.

Feb. 10, 2026: Development and construction experts appeared at a Waterloo Region Sustainability, Infrastructure and Development Committee, warning of the immediate impacts the development pause was having.

Scott MacDonald, president of Dean-Lane Contractors Inc. said layoffs in the construction industry were possible by the fall, while Joe Benninger, vice president of CBRE, said some projects were already being lost due to the uncertainty.

“If you look at Bruce Nuclear, they’re looking at significant expansion, no question about it. And in the meeting, it was said that there will be no electrician jobs in Kitchener Waterloo in the near future. So, they will be able to pull everybody out and move it through. That will decimate our industry,” Jeff MacIntyre, president of the Grand Valley Construction Association said.

“The Greater KW and Cambridge Chambers of Commerce have already advised that the freeze effectively hangs a sign on Waterloo Region that says, ‘Closed for new business,’” Larry Masseo, Waterloo Region Home Builders’ Association’s policy advisor, said.

Delegates asked the region to keep them informed and involved in future decisions.

Feb. 25, 2026: At a council meeting, regional staff explained why Waterloo Region was suddenly experiencing a water capacity issue.

“We’ve been taking more water out of the ground than what is sustainable,” Geoff Moroz, a hydrologist for the Region of Waterloo, said.

According to his report, the region has been using more than the stated maximum capacity for around three years, only maintaining regular water service through a temporary reserve system known as “peaking.”

When asked why council was only learning of the situation now, staff replied that it takes time to collect and analyze data.

“We thought there was a lot more operational flexibility within the system,” Moroz said.

Feb. 27, 2026: Cambridge Councillor Doug Craig said he will put forward a motion, at the council meeting on March 10, requesting a third-party investigation into the water supply issue.

“Why weren’t we alerted earlier?” he asked. “I think what we need is clarity in terms of what happened, and I think what we need is recommendations to make sure this doesn’t happen again,”