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Source Water Protection Program |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines source water as untreated water from lakes, rivers and aquifers that is provided as public and private drinking water for human consumption. The Source Water Protection Program works to reduce treatment costs and health risks by protecting source water.
The Wellhead Protection Program (SWPP) is part of the Source Water Protection Program and was passed into law by the U.S. Congress as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1986. The objective of WHP is to protect the health of people using ground water as a public drinking water source by providing a focus zone around public wells or well fields to prevent, detect and remediate ground water contamination. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) administers the program in the State of Ohio. The Ohio EPA currently requires public water suppliers to commit to the development of a SWPP as a condition for permitting new public water supply wells. The SWPP does not apply to private or industrial water suppliers.
OUR SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PROGRAM (SWPP)
The Consortium began working on the first phase of the SWPP, well field delineation, in 1991 and received full endorsement from Ohio EPA in November 1997. Navigation
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The Consortium began working on the first phase of the SWPP, well field delineation, in 1991 and was endorsed fully by the EPA in 1997. Due to the fact that several new well fields have been put into place and pumping has increased, the Consortium is currently re-delineating their one, five and ten year TOT zones and will be releasing an updated Well Field Delineation report in 2009.
The SWPP consists of six separate yet closely integrated components. Each component must be approved by Ohio EPA before a community has a fully endorsed SWPP. The six components are:
A SWPP was initially required for the Cities of Fairfield and Hamilton as a condition for bringing new wells into service. A joint effort among all Consortium members, however, was undertaken for a variety of reasons, including expectations by other members of being required to develop a SWPP in the future, cost efficiencies and a general interest in knowing and protecting ground water capture zones.
