|
|
Frequently Asked Questions about Protecting your Source of Drinking Water
(Click here for a printable fact sheet on Ohio's Source Water Protection Program) [PDF]
GENERAL INFORMATION
SUSCEPTIBILITY ANALYSIS
ASSESSMENT REPORTS
LOCAL PROTECTION PLANS
GENERAL INFORMATION
- What is Source Water Protection? Also known as "Wellhead Protection" and "Drinking Water Source Protection", source water protection is a program to assist public water suppliers with protecting sources of drinking water (streams and aquifers) from contamination. Source Water Protection addresses the more than 5,000 public water systems in Ohio and does not address private residential water systems.
The Source Water Protection program involves two phases. The first phase is collecting information about the source water, or the "assessment phase". There are three steps to an assessment:
- Delineating the protection area;
- Identifying the potential contaminant sources in that area; and
- Determining the susceptibility of the source water to contamination.
Some public water systems have completed their own assessments. Starting in 2000, Ohio EPA staff began assessing the remaining systems, including all surface water systems. By January 2006, this phase was complete for over 95% of Ohio's public water systems.
The second phase is developing and implementing a local drinking water source protection plan. This effort is led by the public water system owner/operator, with assistance from other stakeholders.
- Where did this program come from? The federal Safe Drinking Water Act amendments of 1986 established the Wellhead Protection Program, which required states to administer a source water protection program for their systems using ground water. In 1992 Ohio's Wellhead Protection Program was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Administered by Ohio EPA, the program provided guidance and technical assistance to public water systems, who were encouraged to complete assessments and protection plans using their own resources. Ohio EPA staff reviewed the assessments and formally endorsed them, when complete.
In 1996, the Safe Drinking Water Act was amended again. Section 1453 was added, providing states with federal funding to complete source water assessments for their public water systems. At that time, the program was extended to include surface water systems and was renamed "Source Water Protection". Also, an additional piece of information was required in an assessment - a Susceptibility Analysis. It is the intent of Congress that public water systems use the information in their source water assessment to develop a drinking water source protection plan.
Ohio EPA convened a Source Water Advisory Group to develop Ohio's Source Water Assessment Program, which was approved by USEPA in 1999. In Ohio, Ohio EPA's Division of Drinking and Ground Waters administers the program.
- What is the difference between Source Water Protection and Wellhead Protection? Source Water Protection ("SWAP") and Wellhead Protection ("WHP") are both national programs designed to help protect our nation’s drinking water. They have the same goal and the same methods, but originated at different times historically, with different scopes. The Wellhead Protection Program was created by the 1986 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, and focused exclusively on ground water systems. Ten years later, Congress recognized that the program was faltering due to lack of funding. They passed the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, which extended source water protection to surface water systems, and provided for funding.
In Ohio, the WHP program is merged into the Ohio SWAP Program, which is administered by Ohio EPA. The terms WHP and SWAP are used interchangeably. (In some other states, the two programs are kept separate due to state-specific administrative or legal issues.) In Ohio, the differences between the two programs are mostly of historical interest, and are summarized below.
Scope: WHP focused exclusively on ground water systems, and prioritized large community systems. SWAP extended the program to ALL public water systems, including surface water systems and noncommunity systems.
Work focus: The national WHP Program provided standards for public water systems to conduct assessments (delineation and inventory of a protection area) and develop a local protection plan . The national SWAP Program exclusively addressed assessments.
Funding: National funding was not provided for WHP. For SWAP, a one-time federal grant was awarded for conducting assessments to each state with a U.S. EPA-approved SWAP Program. (Ohio’s SWAP Program was approved in November, 1999).
Susceptibility Analysis: The national WHP Program did not require susceptibility analyses as part of assessment activities. This requirement was added to the SWAP Program. (In 2001-2003, Ohio EPA completed susceptibility analyses for all public water systems that had already completed their own assessments under WHP.)
Public water systems with an endorsed "Wellhead Protection Plan" are considered to meet all the guidelines for a "Protection Plan" under SWAP.
- Who needs source water protection when drinking water is treated to meet health standards? The first reason is, treatment sometimes fails. For example, in May, 2000, the community of Walkerton, Ontario was devastated by E. coli contamination of their drinking water, which killed seven people and hospitalized about 2,300 people. The incident occurred because a number of barriers failed simultaneously. If manure spreading had not been permitted around the well, the failure of the other controls would not have had such a tragic outcome.
Beyond this, treatment is expensive. The cleaner the source water, the less the water system - and its customers - have to pay. Clean, abundant source water is important to everyone, and is a major selling point for communities interested in attracting investment.
- What does having a protection area do for my community? Other environmental programs within Ohio EPA and other agencies have regulations authorizing them to restrict certain activities within a designated protection area. For example, new landfills, motor vehicle disposal wells, and manure storage sites for large confined-animal facilities may not be sited in drinking water source protection areas for ground water systems. Most public water suppliers welcome these particular regulations, as they help divert potentially high-risk facilities away from intakes and wellfields, to less sensitive areas. These regulations go into effect 30 days after a source water assessment report is sent to the system, unless the system requests changes. Public water systems installing new wells or wellfields also have the option to complete their own assessments, in which case regulations would apply once the assessment is reviewed and endorsed by Ohio EPA.
- What is a Susceptibility Analysis? This is an evaluation of the likelihood that a drinking water source could become contaminated. In Ohio, all surface waters are considered to have a ‘high' susceptibility to contamination. Aquifers that supply ground water to a public water system are ranked ‘high', ‘moderate', or ‘low', based on the local geology, the numbers and types of potential contaminant sources, and water quality.
- What is the point of a Susceptibility Analysis? This was originally requested by Congress as a way to help decide where to apply federal funds available for resource protection, and to determine where more stringent regulation may be reasonable. Systems with a high susceptibility rating will have a higher priority for funding. Systems with a low susceptibility rating may be exempted from certain monitoring requirements.
- Is a susceptibility analysis the same as a vulnerability assessment? No. A susceptibility analysis concerns the likelihood of contamination of the source water (i.e., the aquifer or the stream/lake), whether accidentally or intentionally. ‘Vulnerability Assessments' concern the likelihood that a public water system's infrastructure - the plant, water lines, etc. - could be compromised by sabotage. Vulnerability Assessments are required by the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.
- What does it mean to have a "High" susceptibility? In most cases, it means your source water has a high potential for contamination, due to lack of natural protection, and/or a high number of contaminant sources. It does not mean that the source water will inevitably become contaminated, and should not be interpreted as a cause for alarm. It should instead be cause for action, to protect the source water to the fullest extent feasible.
In those cases where ground water quality is known to be impacted by human activities (e.g., high nitrates or the presence of solvents), the source water has been rated ‘high' susceptibility on that basis, even if the aquifer may otherwise not seem susceptible to contamination.
- Can the susceptibility rating for my water source ever change? In Ohio, all surface waters are considered to have a high susceptibility to contamination, and this will not change. In some cases, a ground water source has been given a high susceptibility because of numerous significant potential contaminant sources. If the risk from these sources is minimized, the susceptibility could be lowered. Similarly, a ground water system's susceptibility may be raised (assuming it is not already ‘high') if numerous significant potential contaminant sources are subsequently sited in the protection area or if water quality impacts are detected. However, susceptibility analysis for ground water systems is based primarily on the aquifer characteristics, which are relatively unchanging.
ASSESSMENT REPORTS
- Who is the intended audience for a Drinking Water Source Assessment Report? The main audience for an Assessment Report is the public water system owner/operators, to provide them with information that can potentially help them protect drinking water at the source. A secondary audience is the individuals in watershed groups and other organizations who could partner with the public water system to help implement protective strategies. Finally, the reports are meant for the general public. Because of this, the reports include information about the public water system, which the owner/operator would know but the general public would not. They also are written less technically than most technical reports produced by Ohio EPA.
- How can I see the Drinking Water Source Assessment Report for a public water system?Drinking Water Source Assessment Reports can be accessed online by becoming a registered user on our Secure Web Site.
- Are reports written for systems that purchase their water? Ohio EPA completes assessment reports only for those systems that actually pump water from an aquifer or a surface water body. Any public water system that pumps its own water and then sells it to other public water systems should make copies of the Assessment Report available to the purchasing systems.
LOCAL PROTECTION PLANS
- What is a Drinking Water Source Protection Plan? A drinking water source protection plan is a locally designed and implemented plan to protect the source of drinking water from contamination at the source. The focus and scope of a protection plan is dependent on the size and type of water system, as discussed below.
Municipal public water systems (serving a political jurisdiction) and investor-owned water companies using ground water: A typical plan addresses (1) educating residents and decision-makers about protecting the source water; (2) including source water concerns in the system's contingency plan; and (3) strategies to reduce the risk posed by specific potential contaminant sources. Monitoring of the raw water may be an additional element. The protection plan may be implemented as a completely voluntary effort, or through a local ordinance that would give the jurisdiction the ability to enforce certain measures.
- Available Protection Planning Guides for Municipal Ground Water Systems
Non-municipal public water systems (serving mobile home parks, nursing homes, schools, factories, and small businesses) using ground water: When Ohio EPA staff complete a system's assessment report, they attach a checklist that is tailored to the types of potential contaminant sources identified in the system's protection area. The owner/operator is asked to check off strategies that they intend to implement or are already implementing, and return the checklist to Ohio EPA. This checklist then becomes the system's protection plan. Some non-municipal systems may want to develop a more comprehensive protection plan. If so, the system may also use the materials developed for municipal systems.
Public Water Systems using surface water: Most surface water systems serve a large population, and the protection areas are typically many square miles in extent. Ohio EPA currently is developing guidance for these systems on how to develop a drinking water source protection plan. Public water system operators are encouraged to strongly support any watershed planning organizations that are active in the watershed upstream from the water plant's intake.
- Available Protection Planning Guide for Surface Water Systems
- How can I get involved in protection planning in my community? Contact the public water system superintendent and ask if a Drinking Water Source Protection Plan is in place or being developed. If not, you may want to offer your assistance in organizing a protection team in your community. Much of the effort involved is organizational, and anyone with energy and organizational skills can be a valuable resource. A good protection plan will make full use of existing agencies, regulations, and volunteer groups to carry out the protective strategies that are chosen. Ohio EPA staff at your District Office and at the Central Office in Columbus, are available to offer guidance and technical assistance (contacts).
|
|