Source Water Protection 101
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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A Healthy Watershed Means
Healthy Drinking Water
Photo credit: Strafford
Ri
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Conservancy of Dover, N
Presentation Outline
• 1. What is Source Water and Source Water Protection?
• 2. What are the benefits associated with source water
protection?
• 3. What are potential threats to sources of drinking water?
•4. What are tools & techniques to protect drinking water sources?
•5. How can your community protect sources of drinking water?
•
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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What is SOURCE WATER?
Why is it so important?
Source Water = Drinking Water
• Drinking water sources:
– Surface water (rivers, streams, lakes and
reservoirs)
– Ground water (aquifers and springs)
– Public and Private wells
• Vibrant community economies and public
health depend on good local water quality
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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Precipitation
Evapotranspiration
Pumping
Well
Surface
Runoff
Recharge
Plant Uptake
Lake
Lake
Stream
Ground Water / Surface Water
Interaction
Aquifer
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What is SOURCE WATER PROTECTION?
Protect drinking water sources: provide clean, safe
water that minimizes treatment expenses, protects
public health, and sustains communities.
• Many partners: public water systems, community
leaders, land-use decision-makers, agricultural &
forestry leaders, and the public.
• Voluntary actions and requirements at local, state, and
federal levels that together can keep contaminants
from entering sources of drinking water.
• State source water programs - based on each state’s
water resources and drinking water priorities.
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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Safe Drinking Water Act
Multiple-Barrier Approach
SOURCE WATER PROTECTION
reduce contaminant threats
TREATMENT
MONITORING
&
COMPLIANCE
COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT
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Potential Pathways of Contamination
• Surface Water
– Urban/rural runoff (e.g., stormwater, livestock
operations, farm fields, lawns)
– Ground water infiltration
– Direct discharge to water bodies (animal feces,
boating, dumping)
• Ground Water
– Infiltration (e.g., pesticide spills, fertilizer from row
crops, animal production, improperly located or
maintained septic systems)
– Injection of contaminants
– Naturally occurring substances (e.g., arsenic, radon)
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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What Information is Available to Protect
Sources of Drinking Water?
• Source water protection areas: geographic
areas around drinking water sources, used to
identify and help protect from potential
sources of contamination
• Potential contaminants/sources: States
identified most prevalent, most threatening
– http://water.epa.gov/drink/local/
• Source Water Protection (SWP) Plans: Some
localities have used this information to
develop & implement SWP plans
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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Source Water Protection Area for Surface
Water-Based Drinking Water Systems
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Source Water Protection Area for Ground WaterBased Drinking Water Systems
10 year time
of travel
wells
2 year time
of travel
Delineation of a Wellhead Protection Area
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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COMMON POTENTIAL SOURCES
of CONTAMINATION to DRINKING WATER
Wastewater Systems
 Municipal Sanitary Waste
Treatment & Disposal
Wastewater Systems
 Municipal Sanitary Waste
Treatment & Disposal
Commerce/Industrial
 Gas Stations
 Large-Capacity Septics
 Large-Capacity Septics
 Chemical and Petroleum
Storage
 Sewer Collection
 Sewer Collection
 Dry Cleaners
 Septic (on-site) Sewage
Disposal Systems
 Septic (on-site) Sewage
Disposal Systems
 Improper Waste Disposal
 Mining
Agriculture
Residential
 Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations
 Septic Systems
 Crop Production
 Fertilizer/Pesticide Application
 Agriculture Irrigation, Irrigation
Wells, Agricultural Artificial Drainage
 Lawn/Garden Care
 Underground and Aboveground
Storage Tanks
 Fertilizer/Pesticide Application
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State/Local Actions to Protect Sources of
Drinking Water
• Update source water assessments, refine
information about potential contaminants/sources
• Identify priority contaminants and sources
• Provide information for inspection and enforcement
programs
• Develop voluntary partnerships to protect water
quality: State Conservationists (NRCS/USDA),
conservation districts, watershed groups, recreation
groups
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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Actions that Protect Sources of Drinking Water
• Identify land use management and other measures that may
be needed
– Preserve land uses that protect water supply
• Regular septic system care
• Agricultural best conservation practices, e.g. fencing livestock
out of streams & providing an alternate water source,
fertilizer and manure management, conservation buffers,
conservation tillage & crop rotation, drainage water
management, efficient irrigation, integrated pest
management
• Forestry best management practices to protect forests that
preserve water quality
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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Costs of Contamination
Direct Costs
• Treatment and Remediation
• Water Supply Replacement
• Public Information
Campaigns
Indirect Costs
• Health Costs
• Lost Productivity
• Reduced Revenue for
Businesses that Depend on
Clean Water: Tourism &
Recreation, Food Processing
• Lost Economic Development
Opportunities
• Lost Consumer Confidence
• Loss of Property Value and
Tax Revenue
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Reactive
Urgency
Proactive
U (t) = P x C x $ x A
Time
tf
The Costs of Prevention
• Vary based on the prevention measures selected
• Responding to contamination can be much more costly than
prevention
• Remsen, Iowa spent over $700K to purchase farmland for conservation
to protect its drinking water from high nitrate levels, vs. over $2M
projected cost for new nitrate treatment system
• " More than 117 million Americans (over 1/3 of the total US
population) get some or all of their drinking water from
waters that are not clearly protected right now. Some
communities have found that every dollar spent on source
water protection saves about $8 to $27 in water treatment
costs.“
Geographic Information Systems Analysis of the Surface Drinking Water Provided by Intermittent, Ephemeral and Headwater Streams in the U.S. Performed by U.S.
EPA July, 2009, http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/surface_drinking_water_index.cfm
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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Potential Partners
http://www.sourcewatercollaborative.org/allies/
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Federal and State Government
– State source water programs, Clean Water programs, USDA agriculture and forestry
programs, underground storage tank programs, hazardous waste programs (RCRA,
Superfund), USGS, Bureau of Land Management
•
County/Local Level
–
–
–
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Public water systems
Planning departments
Public health programs
USDA county offices: Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service
Agency (FSA), Cooperative Extension
– Conservation districts
•
Non-Governmental Organizations
–
–
–
–
•
Watershed Groups
Trust for Public Land
The Nature Conservancy
Sporting groups, including Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited
Technical Assistance Providers:
– Rural Water Associations, Rural Community Assistance Partnership
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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Source Water Protection: Online Tips for
Partnering with State Conservationists
Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative
Honored with 2012 U.S. Water Prize
www.sourcewatercollaborative.org
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Additional Resources
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Mapping tool to identify priority areas for nutrient reduction:
epa.gov/nutrientpollution/npdat
Another useful map resource, MyWATERS Mapper:
http://watersgeo.epa.gov/mwm
To customize your own source water pamphlet:
http://www.yourwateryourdecision.org/
Source Water Stewardship: A Guide to Protecting and Restoring Your Drinking
Water at http://www.cleanwaterfund.org/publication/source-water-stewardshipguide-protecting-and-restoring-your-drinking-water
Example of local collaboration: http://www.schuylkillwaters.org/
Source water protection lessons for high school students:
https://www.ffa.org/drinkingwater
Speaker contact information:
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"Do unto those downstream as you
would have those upstream do unto
you."
~ Wendell Berry
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