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Opportunity to Apply for 2013 Source Water Collaborative (SWC) Pilots
The SWC’s membership, (see our members at www.sourcewatercollaborative.org) wishes to
help promote state and/or local actions by sponsoring three collaborative efforts in 2013 to
protect drinking water sources by gaining the support of key agricultural and/or Clean Water
Act authorities to implement conservation practices and other effective approaches.
The SWC is asking interested parties to submit an Expression of Interest. This sponsorship
would be a 10-month commitment and would include planning support (additional detail
below).
Goals of the Pilot Program
 Leverage opportunities to integrate the Clean Water Act priorities, programs, and
activities with those of the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect drinking water sources.
 Leverage opportunities to build a collaborative effort with USDA’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist’s office. Specific collaborative
efforts with a goal of one or more of the following:
o Coordinate source water protection needs with NRCS programs and priorities,
such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP); for example, working with NRCS’s State
Conservationist, local conservation districts, and others in partnership to address
source water protection needs in a specific area.
o Update State 590 Standard to establish ongoing nutrient management on the
ground with consideration of drinking water sources.
o Establish a relationship to provide specific input to watershed selection and
implementation of the National Water Quality Initiative based on nutrient
concerns for drinking water sources in the watershed(s).
Key Dates for 2013 Pilot Selection
 December 12, 2012: Notify the SWC with your intention to submit an Expression of
Interest by emailing Christene Jennings christene.jennings@saltermitchell.com
 December 21, 2012 (No later than Noon EST): Please email your formal Expressions
of Interest to Christene Jennings (christene.jennings@saltermitchell.com)
 February 22, 2013: Expected date of Notice of Decision on Proposals. The SWC will
announce the selected projects by email to everyone who sent an Expression of
Interest.
Focus of 2013 SWC Pilots
The SWC intends to sponsor three collaborative efforts in 2013 and is interested in receiving
proposals from groups that are ready to initiate a specific collaborative effort in their state that
is consistent with one or both of the two initiatives below:
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In October 2012, the SWC launched a new toolkit designed to help foster effective
partnerships between state source water programs and the USDA Natural Resource
Conservation Service (NRCS) to get more agricultural conservation practices on the
ground to help protect sources of drinking water:
http://www.sourcewatercollaborative.org/swp-usda/
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In Fall 2012, several SWC members began a new State Safe Drinking Water Act /
Clean Water Act Collaboration Initiative that could offer encouragement and insights to
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a pilot program focused on building collaboration between these programs at a state or
local level.
Candidates Should Meet the Following Criteria
 Have source water assessment maps and data, along with a proposed set of source
water protection priorities and actions to guide collaborative efforts, including developing
and/or enhancing local source water protection plans.
 Have organization leadership, champions, and/or partners in place who are willing to
support the collaborative steps to meet the project’s goals; and will continue to support
implementation of source water protection policies, plans, and/or conservation practices
that result from this collaborative effort.
 Be able to dedicate time and resources to manage the collaborative effort/project for at
least 10 months.
 Be able to provide and make all arrangements for conference calls and for meeting
space, equipment, supplies, or other amenities.
 Commit to submitting a Word document providing initial results, lessons learned and
implications for future efforts, and describing next steps for the collaborative effort into
2014, no later than December 2013 at the conclusion of the pilot period.
The Recipient Would Receive the Following Benefits:
 Consultations and sharing lessons learned from other SWC members
 Access to potential partners and non-traditional or harder-to-reach audiences via the
SWC membership and associates
 National attention and promotion of your collaborative effort
 Contractor support for planning and facilitating a meeting to engage potential partners in
the effort
 A limited amount of strategic planning assistance and various communications support,
such as marketing and graphic design, may be available
Instructions for Submitting Expression of Interest
 Submit a cover letter with the following information:
o Intended scale of the collaborative effort (to the extent possible, please list which
small-scale watershed, aquifer-shed, state and/or regional area would be
covered)
o Intended goals and planned outcomes of the collaborative effort
o A short description of how the proposed project meets the criteria specified
above
o Demonstrate your group’s readiness to proceed by describing efforts and
planning to date to collaborate on source water protection
o List of existing and interested collaborative partners, along with potential and
non-traditional groups the SWC may be able to invite
o To the extent possible, please list the type of support you wish to receive
o Describe how your effort can better achieve its intended outcomes with the
SWC’s support
o Provide complete contact information for the main contact person for your effort.
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Next Steps
SWC members will review all Expressions of Interest and determine which offer the ripest
opportunities for success and that could potentially benefit the most from SWC sponsorship.
Those selected may be asked to provide additional details about their planned effort.
Questions may be directed by email to:
Christene Jennings, Salter>Mitchell
christene.jennings@saltermitchell.com
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who can respond to this Request for Proposals?
State and local governments, regional planning organizations and other crossjurisdictional or multi-state organizations, non-governmental organizations (non-profit,
501(c)(3)) can respond.
2. We are not sure how we might use support from the Source Water Collaborative.
Can you provide suggestions?
No direct funding will be available for SWC pilots. The SWC will provide targeted
technical assistance and expertise. In addition, the SWC may be able to support costs
for meeting facilitation and facility use.
Examples of costs that could be covered include a meeting that brings together partners
to identify available data and technical resources/capabilities to help identify priority
watersheds, or to solicit support for a particular source water protection project. The
focus of the effort could for instance be building a partnership with Clean Water Act
programs to include drinking water source protection in CWA policy, program
implementation, and priorities. The focus could also be on partnering with NRCS on a
particular source water protection project. If you are interested in building a collaborative
partnership with your NRCS State Conservationist’s office, the SWC recommends using
the new online Collaboration Toolkit (http://www.sourcewatercollaborative.org/swpusda/). Step 5 of this toolkit encourages source water professionals to coordinate with
partners before approaching their NRCS State office. A pilot plan might also include
working together to provide input on watershed selection and implementation of the
NRCS Water Quality Initiative.
3. How can the Source Water Collaborative specifically help our proposed effort?
The SWC can help you bring partners to the table via outreach from our national
member’s networks across the U.S. The SWC might also be able to provide contractor
support for planning and facilitating a meeting to help engage potential partners; project
design and strategic planning assistance; and various communications support, such as
marketing and graphic design.
4. What are some successful efforts to date that have utilized this approach?
In recent years, the SWC provided support to help initiate two new collaborative efforts:
 The Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative (Recipient of the 2012 US Water
Prize) (http://www.prep.unh.edu/sfwc/how_sfwc.htm)
 The Delaware River Basin Forum (www.delawarebasindrinkingwater.org)
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The Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative (SFWC), an affiliate of the national
Source Water Collaborative, is an action-oriented partnership between local, state and
federal partners working to protect and sustain high quality drinking water in the Salmon
Falls River watershed. SFWC is a network of organizations committed to clean drinking
water for the benefit of current and future generations. The Piscataqua Region
Estuaries Partnership (PREP) acts as a lead convening organization for the
Collaborative, as PREP’s guiding Management Plan for environmental protection,
restoration, and monitoring encompasses the entire Salmon Falls watershed in addition
to the entire New Hampshire coastal zone. The Wells National Estuarine Research
Reserve has led the facilitation of the group, the planning of the group’s highly
successful October 2010 workshop, and the development of a drinking water protection
action plan for the Salmon Falls Watershed.
In addition to PREP and the Wells Reserve, the following groups are currently active
participants in this Collaborative’s Steering Committee:
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Maine Center for Disease Control Drinking Water Program
New Hampshire DES Drinking Water Source Protection Program
New Hampshire DES Watershed Assistance Section
Maine Rural Water Association
Granite State Rural Water Association
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
City of Somersworth
South Berwick Water District
Berwick Water Department
Maine Non-point Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO)
Strafford Regional Planning Commission
U.S. Forest Service
Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance
USDA Farm Service Agency (Maine and New Hampshire)
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (Maine and New Hampshire)
The Delaware River Basin Source Water Collaborative, an affiliate of the national
Source Water Collaborative, is a basin-wide partnership to identify and explore issues
impacting water resource sustainability for the more than 15 million people who rely on
surface and ground water from the basin for drinking water. A multi-site forum, held in
March 2011, laid the framework for the continuing dialogue among all who are
dependent upon the source water from this unique basin. The goals of the collaborative
are to:
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Heighten awareness of issues and decisions affecting water resources—now and
for the future—in the Basin
Connect basin-wide and local actors, issues and needs
Create a framework for ongoing collaboration among officials, planners, water
suppliers and other stakeholders and practitioners
Local partners for the Delaware River Basin Source Water Collaborative include the US
Environmental Protection Agency (Region 2 and Region 3), state environmental and
health agencies of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, and the
Delaware River Basin Commission. Additional participants in the ongoing effort include
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private and municipal water suppliers, watershed- and water resource-focused
organizations, environmental advocacy groups and academic institutions.
Several SWC members have also helped support a state-level collaborative effort. More
information about the North Carolina Source Water Collaborative is available here:
http://www.landuseandwater.org/northcarolina.html.