EPA Summary of All Case Studies

sole source aquifer, groundwater, 50 K population, sands and gravel, regional protection effort

The Barnes Aquifer is over 12 miles long, and is either the sole or primary water source for four municipalities within the Connecticut Valley of western Massachusetts. Currently, 12 municipal wells and a large (108 unit) well field tap the Barnes Aquifer to supply 21 million gallons of water per day to the 60,000 residents of these communities. The aquifer is composed of well-sorted, coarse sands and gravels that were deposited approximately 14,000 years ago by a retreating continental glacier.

The aquifer's recharge area is under heavy development pressure from large-scale residential subdivisions and industrial parks. In the past twenty years, various wells in the Barnes aquifer have been contaminated due to traces of ethylene dibromide (EDB) and trichloroethylene (TCE). The size, importance, and inter-municipal geography of the Barnes Aquifer demands regional cooperation and regional solutions to protect this critical water supply.

BURLINGTON, VERMONT

Burlington, Vermont, is a city of almost 40,000 residents located on the shores of Lake Champlain. The dominant industry in the area is farming, although urbanization has increased over the last several years. In addition to being a popular source of recreation and commerce, the 120-mile long, 12-mile wide lake is the source of drinking water for Burlington and other waterfront municipalities.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

The Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) in northern California supplies water to over 430,000 people in Contra Costa County. The primary source of water for this system is the surface water of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers flow from the mountains and join at the Delta.

DAYTON, OHIO

sole source aquifer, groundwater, 900 K + population,, regional protection effort, economic development

Dayton, Ohio's source water protection program has been widely recognized for its innovative approach to balancing ground water protection with economic development. Dayton's wellfields are located within the urbanized core , amidst industrial and commercial land uses and draw from the Great Miami Buried Aquifer, which is part of a larger system that was designated as a sole source aquifer in 1988. This aquifer provides drinking water for 97% of the 900,000 residents in the Miami Valley region of southwestern Ohio and consists of interconnected buried valley and upland systems characterized by sand and gravel deposits. Dayto's Wellfield Protection Program (WFPP) was enabled through legislation passed in 1988. The program is characterized by assistance and incentives for business owners, strong public education and land use regulations.

FORESTVILLE, NEW YORK

The Village of Forestville, New York, is a small rural community with a population of 738. The village's drinking water is derived from two springs, the Hall and Henry springs, which discharge from shallow sand and gravel glacial aquifers. The main threat to the village's water supply has been nonpoint source (NPS) pollution.

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA

The City of Greenville, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, obtains its drinking water from three surface water supplies: Table Rock Reservoir, North Saluda Reservoir, and Lake Keowee. Table Rock Reservoir in Greenville County is a man-made lake, created in 1930, along the South Saluda River. The watershed to the reservoir covers approximately 9,000 acres and is completely owned by the Greenville Water System (GWS), which is run by the commissioners of Greenville's Public Works Division.

MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

surface water, 15 + million gal/day, DWSRF, recreation

The City of Manchester gets its water supply from Lake Massabesic, which is located near the downtown business district. The watershed area covers approximately 42 square miles, over twelve of which are owned by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. From a water quality standpoint, Lake Massabesic is potentially vulnerable to nutrient loading. The implementation of watershed protection is characterized by ongoing cooperation between the public water supply and the various organizations dedicated to maintaining much of the watershed for various types of recreation. Funding for various source water protection-related projects is provided through set asides from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

MERRIMACK, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Merrimack, New Hampshire (population 25,000) is a bedroom community to several large communities, including Boston. One hundred percent of Merrimack's water comes from seven ground water wells that are located in various parts of town and managed by the Merrimack Village District (MVD. In 1995, the MVD discovered TCE contamination in Merrimack's ground water which was a catalyst for a Source Water Protection Program financed through a Capital Reserve Fund generated by a surcharge on customer water rates. Management efforts include land acquisition and development regulations within two aquifer protection districts as well as a strong public education effort. Water protection is also incorporated into the Planning Board's decision-making process, regardless of whether or not the proposed development is within an aquifer districts.

MIDDLETOWN, OHIO

The Town of Middletown in Butler County, Ohio, has a population of 55,000, and its water system serves approximately 60,000 customers. Middletown's 13 active production wells tap the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer at depths ranging from 40 to 120 feet and have a total production capacity of approximately 25 million gallons per day (mgd). Middletown was prompted to begin its source water protection effort in 1991 by the discovery of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the town's ground water sources and a requirement that water suppliers in vulnerable areas undertake wellhead protection to gain approval for system improvements.

MURRAY, KENTUCKY

The City of Murray, population 22,000, is located in western Kentucky and is home to a variety of industries, including manufacturing, chemical production and dairy farm operations. Murray has historically provided its own drinking water from 5 wells set in a semi-confined aquifer ranging from 200 to 300 feet in thickness. The water quality of the public supply wells within the City of Murray continues to meet or exceed all drinking water standards set at the state level Starting in 1996, the city developed a phased approach to managing land uses surrounding each of its public supply wells. There is a strong public outreach effort and continuing cooperation between the local water supplier and the state officials responsible for reviewing Groundwater Protection Plans from local businesses.

NEW YORK CITY AND SEVEN UPSTATE NEW YORK COUNTIES

New York City's population of approximately eight million residents, shares its water supply with one million residents of Westchester, Putnam, Orange, and Ulster Counties, all consuming approximately 1.4 billion gallons of drinking water daily. The source of this water supply is a network of 19 surface water reservoirs, covering 2,000 square miles in a region of upstate New York that extends 125 miles north and west of New York City and encompasses two different regional watersheds. The challenge is to reconcile the public health and environmental resource protection interests of a large and distant city with the farming community's desire to maintain an agricultural way of life in the watershed region.

NORWAY, MAINE

Norway is a small town in southwestern Maine, part of a geographically-linked tri-town area together with South Paris and Oxford. In 1965, Norway installed its single municipal ground water well, slightly less than one-half mile beyond its border, in the Town of Oxford. Location of the well outside of Norway's jurisdiction has recently presented some major challenges with respect to source water protection.

PEKIN, ILLINOIS

Pekin, Illinois (pop 33,200) is an agricultural and industrial community located in the west central portion of the state. Pekin's topography is marked by river bluffs, rolling hills, mature wooded areas and several man-made lakes. Nearly eighty percent of the land in the county is devoted to some form of agriculture. Seven wells provide Pekin with 100% of its drinking water. These are relatively shallow wells in sandy soil, ranging from a well depth of 90 to 154 feet deep. Although highly susceptible, well sampling has revealed no ground water contamination. Pekin has an active ground water protection committee and a ground water ordinance that plays a significant role in land use decisions.

SALEM, OREGON

Salem is the capital of Oregon and its third largest city. Its 108,000 residents are supplied with drinking water from the north portion of the Santiam River, which has a watershed of 490,000 acres stretching from the Cascade Mountains to the city's intake on Geren Island (in the middle of the river) in the Town of Stayton. The City of Salem does not own any of the land within the watershed upstream of its intakes. The United States Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry together own 80 percent of the land in the watershed; the remainder is privately owned.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

The Salt Lake City, Utah, water system supplies more than 400,000 customers, providing an average of 81.2 million gallons of water daily. Peak demands reach over 219 million gallons a day during the hot summer months. Salt Lake City's water system is one of the world's most complex because of the number of water sources and differences in service elevations.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

San Antonio, the eighth largest city in the United States, covers approximately 4,180 square miles of Bexar County in south central Texas. The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) presently serves approximately 1.1 million customers via 92 wells that draw from the Edwards Aquifer, the first aquifer to be designated under EPA's sole source aquifer program. Urban development, both residential and commercial, is rapidly increasing in the aquifer's recharge zone. SAWS's Wellhead Protection Program was initiated by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. Public education and outreach are also important components of SAWS's program. Additional strengths of the SAWS source water protection program are its Abandoned Well Program, Sensitive Land Acquisition Program, land use reviews and assessments, and various contaminant source inspection programs.

SKANEATELES LAKE WATERSHED, NEW YORK

Skaneateles Lake, the fourth largest of the Finger Lakes in New York State, is long and narrow, averaging only three quarters of a mile in width over a length of sixteen miles. It is also deep, with a maximum depth of 300 feet. Given the high quality of the lake's water, The reliance on this water as drinking water for the City of Syracuse and the Town of Skaneateles, and the Villages of Skaneateles, Elbridge and Jordan and the high recreational value of the lake, the citizens of Syracuse and the Skaneateles Lake watershed have a vested interest in protecting their source of water from contamination.

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI

ground and surface water, 150 K + population, karst

Springfield is a city of about 150,000 residents located in southwestern Missouri. The region is currently experiencing a growth boom and has a rapidly urbanizing fringe area near it's municipal watershed. Outside the city, most of the land is used for agriculture, primarily beef and dairy cattle production. Much of Springfield's bedrock is limestone and dolomite, and karst features are very pronounced. The city's drinking water is provided by City Utilities of Springfield, a municipally-owned utility. The city has multiple sources including a spring, a large well, and two reservoir, the James River and a lake. The three primary threats to Springfield's water quality are urbanization, failing septic systems and animal waste. The city's source water activities are coordinated through the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks with an annual budget of $190,000 per year, provided by the county, the city and the PWS. The Committee accomplishes it's source water protection mission through a variety of programs, including development review, educational events, cost-sharing, demonstration projects, water quality monitoring, and use of GIS applications.

STANLEY, VIRGINIA

groundwater, karst, 1 K + population, small system, wellhead protection program, public education, mid-Atlantic , overlay district, rural water association.

The Town of Stanley, Virginia (population 1,293) is located in the Shenandoah Valley, approximately 90 miles from Washington, D.C. Agriculture is the dominant land use in the community, with intermittent residential, commercial and industrial uses throughout the region. Stanley depends on ground water wells for its drinking water supply. Due to the region's karst hydrogeology, there are examples of surface and ground water interaction where surface streams disappear underground and large springs serve as the headwaters of surface stream flow. The town initiated a wellhead protection program in 1994 which is directed by the Town Superintendent. Public education has always been a primary focus of the wellhead protection program. Aa zoning ordinance provides municipalities with the authority to manage land use and guide development to insure the protection of ground water. The town is currently development a wellhead protection overlay area with assistance from the rural water association.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA

Tallahassee operates 29 wells tapping a karst aquifer, part of the Floridan Aquifer System. The city supplies its customers with over 25 million gallons of water per day. There is relatively little heavy industry; instead, the area's major businesses include automotive facilities, dry cleaners, and a variety of light industries. The quality of the ground water is good, and generally disinfection and fluoridation are the only treatments applied prior to distribution. However, the city's water quality monitoring program detected TCE (tetrachloroethylene) contamination in seven wells in the older part of the city. Although the practices that caused the problem are illegal now, TCE has infiltrated the aquifer over the years.

TELFORD, PENNSYLVANIA

The Borough of Telford, Pennsylvania, population 5,500, is located in Montgomery County, northwest of Philadelphia. Telford has coordinated its efforts with several adjacent watershed communities in both Bucks and Montgomery counties. On January 24, 1996, the TBA organized its initial meeting regarding watershed protection, partly in response to incidences of TCE pollution in some of its wells. Representatives from five other towns within the Telford watershed were invited in order to provide a comprehensive, resource- driven approach to Telford's water protection program. In each of these municipalities, there were potential sources of contamination to one or more of Telford's wells.

TUMWATER, WASHINGTON

The City of Tumwater, Washington, draws ground water from three aquifers: the Vashon Advance Outwash, Quarternary Alluvial, and Tertiary-Quaternary Undifferentiated deposits. The Tumwater Water System (TWS) operates 16 wells, six storage tanks, and two pumping stations to supply the water needs of the 14,000 people who live there. Growing awareness of pollution has led to a great sense of concern for the public water supply. Citizens have expressed strong interest in source water protection issues, and public meetings on the subject are well attended.

Local Source Water Protection Programs: Summary of All Case Studies

BARNES AQUIFER, MASSACHUSETTS