WHAT IS CURB?

Clean rural beaches play an important role in healthy and thriving communities across Ontario. They offer recreational and leisure opportunities to residents of Ontario and out of province visitors. Use of Ontario's bathing beaches contribute an estimated $800 million annually to the provincial economy.

Each year many Ontario beaches are posted as unfit for swimming. Bacterial contamination of beach waters is the main reason for beach postings. In rural areas, the most probable recurring sources of this contamination are livestock watering in streams, failed milkhouse waste disposal systems, failed septic systems, and improper manure management systems.

Clean Up Rural Beaches, (CURB), is a Ministry of Environment and Energy (MORE) program that aims to prevent pollution from rural sources to reduce the frequency of rural beach postings in Ontario.

Under the CURB program, the ministry makes funds available for projects such as improving manure storage, milkhouse washwater disposal systems, fencing and crossings to restrict livestock access, and private sewage systems.

During the ten-year period, September 1, 1991 to August 31, 2001, the CURB program will provide $57 million in capital grant assistance to clean up rural beaches in Ontario. Participating conservation authorities deliver the CURB program locally.

HOW THE CURB PROGRAM WORKS

The emphasis of the CURB program is on improving local surface water quality through improved management practices. improved water quality wilt result in rural beaches that are swimmable.

Here is how the CURB Program works:

1. Conservation authorities complete a CURB plan for specific areas under their jurisdiction to be eligible to participate in a local five-year CURB program.
2. Funding is provided by the ministry to conservation authorities for program delivery, conservation promotion, on-farm demonstrations, evaluation, and water quality monitoring.
3. Grants are provided by the ministry through participating conservation authorities to:
   • farmers who build structures and adopt environmentally sound practices as part of their Water Quality Improvement Plan, and
   • rural residents who repair or rebuild a private sewage system as part of their individual Water Quality Improvement Plan
4. Local CURB committees receive and review Water Quality Improvement Plans and projects requesting funding. CURB committees are locally represented by the: conservation authority, MOEE, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), local public health office, and Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association.
5. Emphasis is placed on Extension, Education and Technology Transfer through factsheets, on-site visits, tours, and demonstration projects.

Participating Conservation Authorities (1994) [51 KB pdf]

CURB Program