Local Source Water Protection

EPA's fact sheet, Community Involvement in Source Water Assessments, explains the four steps of source water assessments; how communities can participate in the assessment process; and how communities can utilize assessment information for source water protection. A downloadable version (PDF, 180kb) is available.

Case Studies of Local Source Water Protection Programs - EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water is compiling examples of good local source water protection programs. As these "case studies" are collected and reviewed for accuracy and completeness, they will be posted on this site. They represent a variety of approaches to protecting sources of drinking water supplies for a diverse group of communities that differ in size, geography, economic and social characteristics, and type of source water used (surface water, ground water, or both). What they have in common is a fairly comprehensive approach to source water protection that reflects a strong commitment to safeguarding the public's health. We offer them here so that other communities interested in moving to source water protection can use them as references in designing their own programs.

These case studies are undoubtedly an incomplete sample of the comprehensive local source water protection programs in existence. If you know of other communities with good programs, please contact Steve Ainsworth of safewater at ainsworth.steve@epa.gov.

Source Water Protection Plan for Plaistow, New Hampshire. Plaistow, New Hampshire is implementing an Area-wide Source Water Protection Plan , prepared by their Source Water Protection Committee with the assistance of the Northeast Rural Water Assocition.

Watershed Protection Case Studies - The main goal of any drinking water supplier is to provide safe and reliable water to the consumer. However, meeting this goal is becoming more complex with the impacts of external factors such as increasing populations, the declining quality of the water sources, and the discovery of new threats to human health in the rivers, streams and aquifers. EPA estimates that water suppliers will need to spend over 20 billion dollars nationwide to reduce the threat from contaminants that can cause acute health effects. An estimated 11 billion dollars will need to be spent on rehabilitating source waters. Is there any way to change this prospect?

Municipal water suppliers are looking outward to solutions, partnering with local community members and pollution control programs to implement local management strategies to maintain or improve the quality of their water sources. Rather than waiting for the waters to be beyond repair and require more expensive treatment and rehabilitation, they see value in protecting the source.

In this document, seventeen drinking water suppliers share their experiences on engaging in watershed management efforts as part of their day-to-day business of providing safe drinking water to the public. We hope that these case studies are helpful. We encourage those interested in more details about any particular drinking water supplier's experience, to contact them. Their names and phone numbers are in the acknowledgments.

Download a 819K PDF version of "Protecting sources of drinking water: Case studies in watershed management"

 Electronic Compendium of Groundwater Protection Ordinances - More than 200 cities, towns, tribal nations, reservations and territories protect groundwater public drinking water systems from contamination by using a variety of local government tools such as zoning, health regulations, subdivision controls, and transfer of development rights. The ordinances, regulations and bylaws implementing these tools range from regulating individual sewage disposal systems, placing limitations on the use of toxic and hazardous materials, pesticides, salts, and limiting nitrogen loading within wellhead protection areas, to prohibiting certain uses such as landfills and underground fuel storage tanks within wellhead protection areas.

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Watersheds ordinance site: This web site includes model ordinances to serve as a template for those charged with making decisions concerning growth and environmental protection. There are examples of ordinances used by local and state governments around the nation. The links section of this page has additional resources including ordinances now in use in several states.

Water Quality Model Code and Guidebook.

Made available by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), this guidebook provides local communities, both small cities and counties, with a practical guide to protecting and enhancing water quality through improved land use regulations. The guidebook includes model development code ordinances and comprehensive plan policies that are ready for implementation. It also offers references to other publications and resources providing background information on the link between development activity and water quality.

What Role Does Your Business Have In Protecting Drinking Water Sources: a brochure for businesses who may be responsible for potential drinking water contaminant sources. While specifically produced by Region 1 for businesses in New England, it contains useful information about the SWAP program, common sense tips for protecting drinking water, special incentives for small businesses and Class V wells.

A Training Manual For Communities in Nicaragua is a training manual that was used in several training sessions in Nicaragua to assist communities in the development of their Source Water Protection (SWP) Programs. This document is based on the United States SWP Program, but in this manual, that program is significantly modified to be useful in Nicaragua, and likely other countries in Central America. The major topics in the document are: water quality and community health, benefits from SWP, delineation of SWP areas, developing a community source water management plan, public participation, case studies, and innovative and alternative technologies.

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