PROTECTING PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES

 By Brad L. Cross, Senior Hydrogeologist,
LBG-Guyton Associates, Austin, TX

(This a follow up to the Source Water Assessments article from the previous issue of Monitor.)

There is no question that the intent of the assessments included in the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments lead to protection efforts. After a state has completed its assessment for a water system, the community may decide to undertake protection efforts for targeted sources of contamination.

Protection of drinking water at the source can be successful in providing public health protection and reducing the treatment challenge for public water suppliers. Source water quality can be threatened by many everyday activities and land uses, ranging from industrial wastes to the chemicals applied to suburban lawns. Private well owners are urged to test regularly for common contaminants such as microbes and nitrate-nitrogen.

Water systems are heavily regulated through the Public Water System Supervision Program, and must respond to this threat to public health with regular water quality monitoring and actions ranging from well closure to expensive treatment. In some cases, source water protection can eliminate or forestall the need to change or modify treatment processes. Treatment is expensive and source water protection can save consumers significant money.

The value of investing in source water protection is perhaps best understood by calculating the cost of dealing with a contaminated water supply. Financial benefits can be divided into those that are easy to quantify and those that are not. Easily captured contamination costs include those associated with: water treatment; remediation of the contaminant source; location of new water supplies; purchasing bottled water; litigation costs against responsible parties; and provisions of public information to satisfy public and media concerns.

Reduced Monitoring Costs
Communities with effective source water protection may realize substantial savings in the cost of complying with Safe Drinking Water Act regulations and federal monitoring requirements. Implementation of source water protection programs, for instance, could help water systems avoid costs related to compliance with the proposed Disinfection Byproducts Rule - cleaner source water simply requires less disinfection, thereby reducing the costs for removing disinfection byproducts. Water suppliers with source water protection programs in place may also be eligible for waivers from monitoring requirements that, in turn, would reduce monitoring costs. In Massachusetts, the State waiver program has saved local water systems approximately $22 million over the 3-year compliance cycle, while a similar program in Texas has saved water systems $49 million over two and one-half years.

Under the Surface Water Treatment Rules' filtration waiver program, significant savings are potentially available to surface water systems with good source water quality and an effective source water protection program. For example, 15 systems in Maine saved $108 million in capital costs by not having to install filtration technology.

Control and Eliminate Contaminants
The new Safe Drinking Water Act source water protection provisions encourage programs to control and eliminate contaminants rather than simply removing them. The primary source of funding for these programs is the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

Elected officials have three major responsibilities: the protection of public health and safety; the preservation of a community's economic and social framework; and the prudent expenditure of public funds. Source water protection will support local government efforts in all three areas. A source water protection program should be tailored to fit the specific needs and capabilities of a community. An effective and comprehensive protection program consists of several vital components: Designation of Responsibilities/Formation of Steering Committee-- a steering committee composed of the necessary representatives to designate responsibilities for planning and implementing source water protection activities should be formed to not only guide the effort but obtain local buy-in into the project.

Public Participation -- public participation and education activities are critical to the success of a local source water protection program. If the public and local officials understand the adverse health and economic effects associated with contaminated water supply sources, they will be more willing to support protection measures designed to safeguard their drinking water supply. Protection Area Delineation -- the source water protection area is the surface and subsurface area surrounding a public water supply well or surface water intake through which contaminants are reasonably likely to move toward and reach the water source. The delineation involves the formulation of a conceptual flow model followed by stepwise refinement based on the availability of site-specific data.

Identification of Potential Contaminant Sources -- within each source water protection area, all man-made sources that may adversely impact public health or prevent compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act should be identified.

Development of Management Approaches -- this step involves the implementation of appropriate water protection tools to manage existing sources of contamination within the protection area and to ensure that future land use activities do not pose a threat to drinking water supplies. Various regulatory or non-regulatory tools are available, including zoning, public education, health regulations, technical/financial assistance, transfer of development rights, subdivision control, purchase/donation of property/land trusts, monitoring, and household hazardous waste collection programs.

Contingency Planning -- develop provisions for alternate water supplies in the event of water supply contamination and emergency responses to environmental incidents that may impact the water supply.

Because no two communities are alike in terms of hydrogeologic conditions, resources, or problems, source water protection efforts need to be tailored specifically to meet the needs of each community. Few communities have the time, resources, or expertise to pursue funding options and implement successful Source Water Protection Programs. LBG can provide the expertise to determine appropriate funding options and successfully implement protection measures to protect local drinking water supplies.