Source Water Featured Items

Use this index to go straight to these recently posted pages. For a detailed summary of the contents of each entry see our Features Summary below:

07/22/04	Source Water Protection and Underground Storage Tanks: Partnership Opportunity
03/16/04	Annotated Bibliography of Source Water Protection Materials
02/26/04	Ground Water Awareness Week -- National Ground Water Association 3/14-20/2004
10/24/03	Funding For Source Water Protection Activities (pdf 148KB)
03/12/03	Tracy Mehan (AA Office of Water) Memo on Source Water Assessment and Protection
10/10/02	Karst Rules of Thumb Preventing Contamination: Highway de-icing and airport / aircraft de-icing activities Drinking Water and MTBE: A Guide for Private Well Owners
09/10/02	Consider The Source: A Pocket Guide to Protecting Your Drinking Water
08/21/02	National Source Water Protection Conference, Washington, D.C. June 2 - 4, 2003
05/21/02	Water Quality Model Code and Guidebook.
05/02/01	Case Studies of Local Source Water Protection Programs: 22 Studies available. 9 added 5/02
04/22/02	Source Water Protection Plan for Plaistow, New Hampshire.
02/12/02	A Training Manual For Communities in Nicaragua.
12/18/01	EPA memo on disclosure of locational information in CCRs and source water assessments.
10/09/01	Training Materials on Source Water Protection Best Management Practices
09/24/01	New Sole Source Aquifer Designated in Utah
07/13/01	Guidance from the Underground Injection Program about how a shallow disposal system on your property affects you
07/05/01	Source Water Info in Consumer Confidence Reports - EPA Guidance
03/06/01	The Drinking Water SRF National Information Management System
03/15/01	A source water awareness toolkit
10/01/00	The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) has published SWAP Technical Assistance Document: The Application of GIS Technology and Data Management in States' Source Water Assessment Programs
09/14/00	305(b) Report
09/03/00	USGS Drinking Water Programs
08/09/00	Protecting Drinking Water – County Partnerships that Work

Features Summary:

Source Water Protection and Underground Storage Tanks: Partnership Opportunity

The Offices of Ground Water and Drinking Water and Underground Storage Tanks are working together to reduce the risks of underground storage tanks to drinking water sources. In a July 20, 2004 joint memo to Regional Water Division Directors and UST/LUST Directors, Cynthia Dougherty and Cliff Rothenstein outlined recommended actions to determine whether USTs are one of the risks to drinking water sources in their Region, and to coordinate work to make the best use of resources and increase public health protection.

Annotated Bibliography of Source Water Protection Materials

The annotated bibliography is a comprehensive but evolving list of available materials on source water protection (SWP) developed by EPA or funded by EPA. The documents are organized by subject area and the materials are classified as technical materials, outreach materials, or programmatic guidance. For each, the title, type of document, publication date, authoring organization, and document number (if available), availability (as of May 2003), publication date, format (e.g., report or brochure), and key terms are presented. You can search by the subjects by keyword. Each entry has information on how to obtain the resource material.

Ground Water Awareness Week -- National Ground Water Association 3/14-20/2004

Ground Water Awareness Week held the third week of March each year, was established by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA), a not-for-profit membership organization serving persons in the ground water professions. Set for March 14-20 in 2004, the observance is designed to raise public awareness and appreciation of ground water resources and the professionals who work with ground water. In conjunction with the week, NGWA and its members and affiliates offer information to consumers on the role of ground water in the environment, in households and in the economy. They also shed light on the role of ground water related professions. News releases, school presentations, community events and online information and resources are some of the tools used in the campaign. For more information, visit www.ngwa.org (for ground water professionals) and www.wellowner.org (for consumers) , or contact Cliff Treyens at 800-551-7379 or ctreyens@ngwa.org.

Tracy Mehan (AA Office of Water) Memo on Source Water Assessment and Protection

02/08/03 Memo on Source Water Assessment and Protection from AA/Water to EPA Regional Administrators and State Associations discusses the importance of timely state completion of source water assessments, EPA's role in supporting source water protection, use of Clean Water Act tools to prevent contamination of drinking water sources and the National Source Water Protection Conference. A chart showing assessment completion status by state (as of 09/30/02) is included.

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/source/pdfs/mehan_swp_memo.pdf

Preventing Contamination: Highway de-icing and airport / aircraft de-icing activities

Highway de-icing and airport/aircraft de-icing activities are the subjects of two new bulletins EPA has issued in its series on source water protection practices for preventing contamination of drinking water supplies. All sixteen bulletins are available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/protect/swpbull.html.

The new material has also been incorporated into the PowerPoint version of the Drinking Water Academy'sSource Water Protection BestManagement Practices and Other Measures for Protecting Drinking Water Supplies training module at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwa/electronic.html. The module has been used as the basis of several training courses for States, Tribes, EPA Regions, non-governmental organizations, and others since June of 2001. Additional training courses are planned for the remainder of 2002 and 2003. For further information, please contact Steve Ainsworth at 202-564-3873.

Drinking Water and MTBE: A Guide for Private Well Owners (http://www.uwex.edu/farmandhome/wqpaap/pdf/mtbe.pdf)

This brochure for private well owners gives basic information and resources pertaining to potential contamination by the gasoline additive MTBE (methyl_t_butyl ether). It was produced by Farm-A-Syst and the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Service under a grant from EPA. Multiple copies can be ordered from Becky Hanson (rahanson3@facstaff.wisc.edu)

National Source Water Protection Conference, Washington, D.C. June 2 - 4, 2003

"Moving Forward From Assessment to Protection" Conference is intended to promote effective protection of sources of drinking water and is open to all federal, tribal, state, and local officials and organizations, and private sector and non-governmental organizations interested in promoting source water protection.  For additional information contact Beth Hall (hall.beth@epa.gov).  View The Flyer

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.

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.

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.

OGWDW issued a memorandum 12/05/01 clarifying EPA's position on balancing near term security concerns with SDWA public participation and right to know provisions (specifically CCRs and source water assessments.)

EPA has developed training materials on best management practices (BMPs) and other measures for protecting drinking water supplies. The intended audiences for the materials are state government personnel, EPA regional staff, and staff of organizations that work directly with public water suppliers, communities, or Tribal governments to develop and implement local source water protection programs.

Using the Sole Source Aquifer Program, an aquifer system underlying the Castle Valley in southeastern Utah has received official designation as a sole source aquifer. Drinking water production is from individual domestic wells. Designation means that federal financially assisted projects constructed in this approximately 50 square mile area will be subject to EPA review to ensure that these projects are designed and constructed in a manner which does not create a significant hazard to public health.

EPA has provided guidance from the Underground Injection Program about how a shallow disposal system on your property affects you

EPA has guidance on inclusion of source water information in consumer confidence reports. As source water assessments are completed by State SWAP programs, utilities are required to include information in their annual consumer confidence reports about the availability of the assessment information and a brief summary describing the susceptibility of the system to contamination. EPA’s guidance, published as part of it’s State Implementation Guidance on the CCR includes 1) background information on source water assessments and susceptibility determinations referenced in Section 141.153 (b)(2) of the CCR rule ; 2) a discussion of CCR rule provisions that require highlighting of source water assessments; 3) examples of how a water system might incorporate the results of source water assessments into a CCR.

EPA is compiling examples of good local sourcewater protection programs.

The Drinking Water SRF National Information Management System collects information that provide a record of progress and accountability for the program. Reports on DWSRF activity are currently available for state fiscal years (July-June) 1997 through 2000. Available reports include a national report, state reports, State agency and contact information Acrobat PDF format.

A source water awareness toolkit is available online from The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) - a professional and educational organization representing appointed managers and administrators in local governments. The purpose of this guide is to assist small, rural communities develop a media campaign strategy that will increase the awareness of drinking water source protection within their community. The tool kit includes templates, logos, brochures, sample radio PSA and other sample promotional materials that can be used to help raise community awareness and launch a successful media campaign. The guide was developed using an EPA grant.

The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) has published SWAP Technical Assistance Document: The Application of GIS Technology and Data Management in States' Source Water Assessment Programs , which addresses states' SWAP/ source protection related data quality, coordination, management, and distribution issues and concerns. This document highlights five states= approaches (Pennsylvania, Washington, Ohio, Iowa, and Nevada) to utilizing GIS in their Source Water Assessment Programs.

305(b) Report OGWDW has separately published (EPA-816-R-00-013) three chapters: drinking water quality, ground water quality and ground water protection.

USGS Drinking Water Programs Lists 217 drinking-water related USGS projects in all states and territories, including source-water assessment projects in 27 states. Also lists on-line publications, and an on-line guide to source-water assessment.

Protecting Drinking Water – County Partnerships that Work (June 2000 - National Association of Counties): Profiles of counties working through watershed protection partnerships and agreements to protect their drinking water.

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