Tobacco and vegetable farmers along the Whiteman's Creek watershed, which is much of Brant County, are being asked to voluntarily cut back on irrigation by 20 per cent.
The Grand River Conservation Authority moved to "level two" status because water flow in Whiteman's Creek has declined to less than half of normal.
The Ministry of the Environment has issued 130 water-taking permits in the watershed, many of them to farmers, but also including municipalities and golf courses.
So what do you suppose the chances are that a golf course will voluntarily cut back? These are, after, the same people who are exempted from the province-wide ban on the "cosmetic use" of pesticides.
And unlike farmers, golf courses don't need to prepare and adhere to Nutrient Management Plans.
Letters are going out to all of those who hold water-taking permits, each of them permitted to take more than 50,000 litres a day from the creek, ponds or wells.
Rainfall in the area near Burford has been less than half of normal since April.
In April, the Grand River Conservation Authority asked everybody in the watershed to cut back by 10 per cent because rivers and streams were running unusually low.
