The water which is available for our use today is the
same amount of water that has always been available
and that ever will be available. Yet, the amount of
water used by people as part of their everyday activities
has risen dramatically. Communities can educate their
residents and businesses about ways to conserve
water. During droughts and water shortages, some
communities have instituted water restrictions (for
example, allowing only odd or even day lawn and garden
watering, hand-held hoses, or early morning and late
evening lawn and garden watering). But, limiting water
use shouldn't only happen in emergencies. Increasingly,
streams in New England are struggling to maintain their
native fisheries due to low in-stream flows. By using
landscaping practices that conserve water you can protect
the abundance of your drinking water supply and help
to maintain New England's streams and the plants, animals
and fisheries that depend on them. If you plan to water
your lawn or garden, be sure to water only in the early
morning or late evening to minimize the amount of water
which evaporates and doesn't reach plant roots.
Conserving water should be an everyday practice for
businesses and citizens. For example, on Cape Cod in
Massachusetts, several area restaurants and hotels are
participating in a new effort to conserve water. Hotels
offer residents the option of avoiding daily washing
of towels, and participating restaurants no longer automatically
serve water to customers since many will choose to have
other types of beverages during their meals. Efforts
like these can be expanded throughout New England. You
can also learn about models available through the "WAVE"
program for businesses to predict potential water savings
through changing their practices here.
In addition to lawn watering, citizens can limit their
water use by purchasing water efficient appliances (dishwashers,
washing machines), replacing old toilets with water
saving toilets, using low-flow shower nozzles and faucet
heads, taking short showers and turning the faucet off
when it's not being used.
Many drinking water contamination problems arise from
people's everyday activities. Contaminants can be introduced
into ground water, rivers, lakes, and streams from a
variety of sources: septic tanks and cesspools; surface
impoundments; agricultural activities; landfills; lawn
care and gardening; underground storage tanks; abandoned
wells; accidents; storm water systems; illegal dumping;
and highway de-icing are examples. To learn about hazardous
waste sites in New England click here.
What can you, as a citizen, do to protect the quality
of your community's drinking water? You can start by
supporting your local water supplier's efforts to provide
safe drinking water in your community. Water supplies
must be regularly maintained and must meet strict requirements
for safety. Suppliers sometimes meet resistence when
seeking increased water rates necessary to meet these
requirements. Yet, the cost of drinking water is typically
low compared to other services provided to consumers.
You can also consider the effects of your own practices.
Nearly everyone uses products that can contaminate water,
such as motor oil, pesticides, left-over paints, weed
killers, household cleaners and furniture polishes.
Any harmful product you pour down the drain or flush
down your toilet will enter your septic system or community's
sewer system. To prevent water contamination, use and
dispose of harmful materials properly, and whenever
possible, substitute a nonhazardous product. Use pesticides
only when they are needed and always follow the package
instructions. Don't dump hazardous waste on the ground.
Contact your town or city hall to learn how to dispose
of hazardous waste in your community, or contact your
county extension agent to learn about natural ways to
control lawn, garden, and tree pests, and reduce reliance
on chemicals.
In addition to changing your own actions, you can get
involved with others in your community to protect the
drinking water sources in your community. Source protection
is a community-based approach to protecting sources
of drinking water from contamination. Communities have
worked with state and federal agencies to develop their
own drinking water protection programs using local regulatory
tools like zoning ordinances, subdivision ordinances,
site plan review, and design and operating standards.
They have also developed public education programs and
offered hazardous waste collection days to encourage
residents and businesses to be more protective. Land
acquisition of water supply lands, water conservation
and water monitoring are also used to ensure that local
drinking water sources are protected, and will provide
sufficient, high quality water in the future. Useful
guides and examples of model regulations for drinking
water protection may be available from your
state drinking water program and EPA Region 1, New England
Office staff.
What Else Can You Do? Contact your local health department.
They are responsible for protecting both the health
of people in your community and the environment. You
can also contact your local planning department, watershed
association, local water supplier and regional planning
agency for more information on what you can do to protect
your drinking water sources. Be a citizen activist by
volunteering your time and energy to help with monitoring
or data gathering in your community. Form community
groups and get involved in decision-making as well as
hands-on protection and restoration efforts, and help
educate your family, friends and neighbors about the
importance of drinking water to your community.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking
Water Hotline can provide information to callers about
EPA's drinking water regulations, public education materials
and guidance. Please call (800) 426-4791 to reach the
Hotline.
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