SOURCE WATER PROTECTION
and
Your Drinking Water
Today, source water protection[1] is paramount for all drinking water systems. With concerns over encroachment by rural and urban growth, agricultural business and changing land uses, the task of monitoring and keeping up with one’s community can become a delicate balancing act between what one’s community has and/or wants, and what is best for it.
Source water protection is not mandatory in Idaho, but is required to qualify for various grants and funds to upgrade drinking water systems. By participating with your drinking water system in its efforts to develop or update its protection plan, you and other community members will learn and understand to:
· Better understand your drinking water system’s Source Water Assessment;
· Use the “five steps to success” to develop a source water protection plan;
· Identify and/or update potential contaminant sources (point and non-point), and prioritize the risks;
· Identify, schedule, and implement source water protection area measures and activities that are regulatory (ordinances) or non-regulatory (public outreach and education); and
· Develop an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) to prepare for a drinking water emergency, thus planning for your community’s future.
Drinking water systems with a DEQ “state-certified” Source Water Protection Plan have a much better chance of obtaining grants and loans from various lending agencies, including the USDA-Rural Development, DEQ and the EPA, as well as other agencies. Because of your participation, your community will be able to establish protection measures structured to provide a sustainable protection plan for its source water protection area over the next five years, helping to protect its most valuable resource, safe drinking water for you and your family.
SOURCE WATER PROTECTION
Introductions:
Attendees/Participants:
Name / Representing / Email AddressS Why is Source Water Protection important, and how does it benefit your drinking water system?
S Beginning the Process: Five Steps to Success
1. Develop a source water protection community Planning Team
2. Identify the source water protection area for your drinking water system
3. Identify potential contaminant sources (point and nonpoint) and ranking them (Low, Medium, or High) for their risk to the source water protection area
4. Develop, coordinate and implement protection measures (regulatory or non-regulatory) that will create a sustainable protection program; and
5. Create an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) to assist your drinking water system and community residents in the case of a water emergency.
S Understanding Source Water Assessments (SWA)
Review of your Source Water Assessment
S Identifying potential contaminant sources (point and nonpoint)
Prioritizing potential contaminant sources that pose the greatest threat
S Source water protection measures and activities
Regulatory measures (ordinances)
Non-regulatory measures (outreach and public awareness)
Responsibilities
S Contingency Planning: Preparing for the Unexpected
External Threats (vandalism, trespass, natural disasters)
Internal Threats
S Review established protection goals
Follow-through
Version 12.4.2012
[1] The term “Source Water Protection” is the same as Wellhead Protection for ground water sources of drinking water and Source Water Protection for ground water and surface water sources. The term “Source Water Protection” will be used and is synonymous with Source Water/Wellhead Protection.