Frequent Questions
Where does drinking water come from? If you live in a large metropolitan area, most of your drinking water probably comes from a surface source such as a lake, stream, river, or reservoir. Sometimes these sources are close to the community, and sometimes they are many miles away. If you live in a small community or in an isolated area, it's more likely that your water originates underground and is pumped to the surface through a well. Ground water comes from natural underground formations, often consisting of sand or gravel, that contain water. These formations are called aquifers. If you own a private well, you're responsible for making sure that the water is safe to drink. Private wells are not regulated by EPA's drinking water standards.
What are the threats to source water? Many contaminants might be present in source water before it's treated, including the following:
Two publically available resources that may describe potential or actual threats to your water supply are source water assessments and consumer confidence reports. First, your water supply and state drinking water program should have an assessment of the source water protection area from which it draws water which identifies potential threats. This assessment includes:
How does the Safe Drinking Water Act address source water protection? The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act provide a new approach for EPA and states. In addition to relying on standards and regulations that address water safety at the tap, measures are in place to ensure the quality of drinking water by protecting it from the source to the tap.
Drinking water protection approaches must be tailored to each unique local situation. Although most source water protection efforts are primarily utility, state, or locally led, a variety of federal tools can be used, such as those available through the Clean Water Act, Underground Injection Control Program, and various agricultural programs. In addition, a number of national non-governmental organizations, such as the American Water Works Association, the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), the National Association of Counties (NACo), and the Trust for Public Lands (TPL), are taking action in the realm of source water protection. One of EPA's roles is to encourage partnerships and provide information to those directly involved in source water protection.
What is a source water assessment? A source water assessment is a study that defines the land area contributing water to each public water system, identifies the major potential sources of contamination that could affect the drinking water supply, and then determines how susceptible the public water supply is to this potential contamination. Public utilities and citizens can then use the publicly available study results to the take actions to reduce potential sources of contamination and protect drinking water. As required by the Safe Drinking Water Act, states have completed source water assessments for virtually every public water system.
What funding is available for source water protection? There is no single source of funding for implementing source water protection plans and activities. A variety of programs can be a source of funding for source water protection activities at the local, state, and federal levels. States used funds available through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to conduct state assessment programs and have the option to use a portion of their money for source water protection purposes such as land acquisition and wellhead head protection programs. Through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), as of 2002, 30 states had funded non point source projects that are protecting drinking water, including purchase of land or easements, wetland protection and restoration, remediation of contamination from leaking underground storage tanks, agricultural best management practices for crop and small animal operations, and upgrading and replacement of failing onsite septic systems.
How can I learn more about source water protection? Read the Citizen's Guide to Ground Water Protection and take the Source Water Protection Training, which includes an introduction to source water protection programs, describes best management practices, and provides information about the delineation of source water areas for water supplies.
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