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Protecting Drinking
Water with the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
Office of Water
(4204)
Washington, D.C. 20460 |
EPA 832-F-00-001 |
Safe drinking water is one of the most fundamental resources for the
protection of public health. About 250 million people in the United States
get their drinking water from a public water system. The Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996 developed a new tool for the protection
of drinking water--the Source Water Assessment and Protection Program.
Through this program, state drinking water agencies assess the threats
to each community's drinking water. Communities and public water systems
can then work together to decide how to best protect drinking water sources.
Funds are available from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF)
to finance a variety of assessment and protection activities. States can
use DWSRF funds to manage their source water protection programs and conduct
assessments. States can also provide loans to water systems to acquire
land needed for protection and implement protection measures. However,
the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program authorized by the
Clean Water Act can also be a powerful tool to help states finance a variety
of protection activities. The CWSRF program can provide assistance to
communities, water systems, and other organizations (including land conservation
associations), for projects that protect source water and enhance water
quality.
What Is A Source Water Assessment?
Source water is the water from the rivers, streams, lakes and ground
water that your system uses to supply your community with drinking water.
Each state will perform source water assessments between 2000 and 2003,
as required by SDWA. Although each state may take a different approach,
assessments generally involve four steps:
- Identify the source water protection area. For each ground
water well or surface water intake, the land area that contributes water
to the drinking water supply is identified and mapped (Figure 1). Contaminants
from land uses and spills within this area could threaten water pulled
into the well or intake.
- Identify contaminant threats to the source water. This inventory
identifies land uses or activities in the source water protection area
that could potentially contaminate the drinking water supply. (Figure
2) A list of types of facilities and activities, with contaminants they
may release, can be found at
www.epa.gov/safewater/swp/intro4.html.
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- Determine susceptibility of source water to contamination.
Through analysis of contaminant threats in the source water protection
area and other factors, a state can determine the susceptibility of
the source water to contamination. This determination helps to identify
priority protection actions that a community could take to prevent contaminants
from reaching source water.
- Make information available to the public. After the state completes
the assessments, the information for each water system is summarized
and made available to the public. This information is a valuable starting
point for local communities to take an active role in protecting source
water and preventing contamination of their drinking water.
What is Source Water Protection?
The protection activities that a community pursues will depend on the
needs of the community. The following is a list of some of the common
protection measures communities have used to protect their source water.
- Managing Contaminants - Projects can reduce the threat of contamination
through cleanup or remediation of pollution. Development of management
plans can control non-point and point sources of pollution that threaten
source water quality (See Box 1).
- Use Prohibitions - Local ordinances can be used to prohibit
the storage or use of dangerous materials in a protection area.
- Zoning Ordinances - By defining the types of activity that
can occur within a district and specifying appropriate regulations,
a community can prevent activities that could be harmful to drinking
water. A compendium of ordinances that exist around the country can
be found at www.epa.gov/r5water/ordcom.
- Subdivision Ordinances - Subdivision ordinances can be used
to set housing density standards, require open space set- asides, and
regulate the timing of development and growth in a community.
- Purchase of Property or Development Rights - A community can
establish control over the activities in a source water protection area
by using funds to acquire land or conservation easements.
- Public Education - Activities such as developing fact sheets
and posters or holding workshops or fairs can build community support
for protection.
- Local Health Regulations - Local regulatory measures such as
sanitary setbacks can avoid contamination by preventing the installation
of septic tanks close to a drinking water well.
Box 1
Managing Contaminants With
CWSRF Funds
- Removal of leaking underground storage tank (UST) and remediation
of contaminated soil and ground water. Nebraska and Wyoming have
used the CWSRF for numerous UST projects.
- Remediation of contamination from underground injection wells
and/or inactive municipal hazardous waste sites has been funded
by the New York CWSRF program.
- Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) such as:
- No-till equipment to reduce runoff to surface drinking water
supplies or
- Manure management measures for animal feeding operations
(AFOs).
- Minnesota's CWSRF has given loans for thousands of these
types of projects.
- Landfill monitoring wells and upgrades. Three Alaskan cities
have used the CWSRF to fund landfill-related projects.
- Restoration of wetlands. Washington loaned CWSRF money to the
City of Port Townsend to preserve wetlands.
- Septic tanks. CWSRFs in Massachusetts and Maine have funded
the replacement of failed individual systems. Delaware is using
the CWSRF to provide incentives to repair failing septic systems.
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Financing Source Water Protection . . .
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund
For more than 10 years, the CWSRF program has been financing projects
to protect the quality of surface water and ground water throughout the
country. The SRF programs in each state and Puerto Rico operate like banks.
Federal and state contributions are used to capitalize or set up the programs.
These assets, in turn, are used to make low or no-interest loans
for important water quality projects. Funds are then repaid to the CWSRF
over terms as long as twenty years. Repaid funds are recycled to fund
other water quality projects. States develop annual Intended Use Plans
(IUPs) that describe how they will use funds in the program to support
water quality objectives.
Capacity of the CWSRF
Nationally, the CWSRF has in excess of $30 billion in assets and has
issued $26 billion in loans since 1988. The CWSRF currently is funding
nearly $3 billion worth of water quality projects annually. Clearly, the
CWSRF can be a powerful financial resource for funding source water protection
projects.
Who May Qualify
The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1987 authorized the CWSRF to fund point
source (§212), nonpoint source (§319), and estuary (§320)
projects. The CWSRF may fund source water protection projects for eligible
loan recipients, including public water systems, community groups, individuals,
conservation districts, and nonprofit organizations.
The CWSRF allows funding for a wide variety of protection projects. However,
since the program is managed by the states, project funding varies according
to the priorities, policies, and laws within each state. The types of
applicants eligible for assistance may also vary by state.
Success Story
Pine Barrens, New York
The ground water aquifer beneath the Pine Barrens of New York is
the sole source water aquifer for 2.6 million people in the region.
Road construction, housing and commercial development have vastly
reduced the rate at which water recharges the underlying aquifer.
At the same time, water continues to be withdrawn at an increasing
rate as population and commercial/industrial activity increases.
Salt water intrusion can occur in coastal areas when recharge cannot
keep up with withdrawal. An additional impact of increased development
is that septic tank effluent can move through the porous soils of
the Pine Barrens and reach the aquifer relatively untreated.
The New York CWSRF program made a loan of $75 million to Suffolk
County for land acquisition in the Pine Barrens Wilderness and Water
Protection Preserve on Long Island. The acquisition is part of a
larger plan by state, local and private organizations to protect
the main recharge zone for Suffolk County's drinking water.
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Getting a Project Funded
Given that each state administers its own CWSRF program differently,
the first step in seeking a CWSRF loan is to contact a state CWSRF representative
- who can be found on the CWSRF websitewww.epa.gov/owm/finan.htm
Your state representative will be able to guide you through the proper
channels. Here are some suggested questions to ask your representative:
- Has the state committed to funding source water protection activities
in its CWSRF IUP?
- If not, what can I do to help get these projects listed on the IUP?
- Can an individual or private entity receive a CWSRF loan for source
water protection activities?
- If not, can I receive a CWSRF loan through my county?
Sources of Loan Repayment
Each state must approve a source of loan repayment as part of the application
process. Although finding a source of repayment can prove challenging,
it is not impossible. Many users of the CWSRF have demonstrated a high
level of creativity in developing sources of repayment and have found
that the source of repayment need not come from the project itself.
Some potential repayment sources include:
- property owner's ability to pay (determined during loan application)
- fees paid by developers
- recreational fees (fishing licenses, entrance fees)
- dedicated portions of local, county, or state taxes or fees
- drinking water fees
- donations or dues made to nonprofit groups
- storm water management fees
- wastewater user charges
Challenges Ahead
EPA encourages states to open their CWSRFs to the widest variety of water
quality projects while still addressing their highest priority projects.
Those interested in source water protection should seek out their CWSRF
program, learn how their state program works and participate in the annual
process that determines which projects are funded.
Success Story
Fresno, California
The Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District received a $20 million
CWSRF loan to implement non-point source control measures in the
Central Fresno County service area and regional ground water basins,
which serve as the primary source of drinking water for the area.
The measures are intended to reduce run-off and microbial pollutants
from regional urban and agricultural lands by constructing treatment
facilities and implementing source control measures. The primary
strategy of the plan is to retain all runoff within the District.
The SRF loan will support the construction of thirty storm water
retention/detention facilities in the high growth perimeter of the
Fresno/Clovis metropolitan areas and seven storm water quality
control basins along the San Joaquin River. The District Board
of Directors adopted a resolution authorizing the repayment of the
loan through a Drainage Fee Ordinance.
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Other Federal Funding Sources
For additional information about funding programs for water quality activities,
including source water protection, visit the EPA Watershed Program page
at www.epa.gov/OWOW/watershed/.
For more information about EPA programs, or for a program representative
in your state, contact:
Clean Water State Revolving Fund Branch
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
(Mailcode 4202)
Washington, D.C. 20460
Phone: (202) 260-7360 Fax: (202) 260-1827
www.epa.gov/owm/finan.htm
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Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
(Mailcode 4606)
Washington, D.C. 20460
Fax: (202) 401-2345
www.epa.gov/safewater/dwsrf.html
Source Water Program
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
(Mailcode 4606)
Washington D.C. 20460
Fax: (202) 260-0732
www.epa.gov/safewater/protect.html
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