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Source Water Protection
Need assistance? Please contact
Kitty Weisman (360)
236-3114, Source
Water Protection Program Lead.
Introduction to Washington's Source Water Protection Program
The Washington State Source Water Protection Program provides
information, tools, resources, guidance, and support to water systems
and others to promote and achieve source water protection statewide. The
focus of the program is on Group A public water supplies, but other
water systems can also find tools they need in these pages.
Group A public water sources include wells (groundwater, also known
as aquifers), springs (groundwater that naturally surfaces), surface
water (rivers, streams, creeks, or lakes), and groundwater under the
influence of surface water (GWI wells). All of these drinking water
sources are at risk of contamination and loss of supply if not carefully
protected.
The goal of source water protection is to ensure safe and reliable
drinking water over the long term. Source water protection is a process
that focuses on maintaining, safeguarding, and improving the quality and
quantity of source water. All Group A water systems are required to
develop and implement a Source Water Protection Program as part of their
Water System Plan or Small Water System Management Program.
Agencies, organizations, and businesses can all take action to
protect drinking water sources as well.
In these pages, you will find information to help you achieve source
water protection. For more information, please contact
Kitty Weisman, Source
Water Protection Program Lead at (360) 236-3114.
Washington's Department of Health – Office of Drinking Water
developed the SWAP from 1997 to 2004, with significant public
participation. The SWAP originally included 6,800 drinking water sources
operated by approximately 4,100 Group A public water systems serving 5.4
million people. To the extent possible, we have tried to update the SWAP
with new source water protection information when available.
Click here
for information on how to update your Source Water Protection Area and
potential contaminant sources data in our database.
The Multiple Barrier Approach to Protecting Drinking Water
The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments also created a
coordinated set of programs and requirements to ensure a safe supply of
drinking water. These programs form the Multiple Barrier Approach
to safe and reliable drinking water.
The Multiple Barrier Approach uses a series of technical and
managerial barriers to prevent contamination of the drinking water
source and distribution system. The overall philosophy is that by having
multiple barriers to prevent contamination, if one approach
fails, consumers would still be protected.
The Multiple Barrier Approach includes:
Risk Prevention - select and protect the best source of
drinking water.
Risk Management - install and operate effective treatment
technologies, properly design and construct facilities, and employ
trained and certified operators.
Monitoring, Compliance & Enforcement - Use a combination
of monitoring that includes source water, finished water,
distribution system, and tap monitoring to detect and fix problems.
Individual Action - empowering customers with information
on drinking water quality and health effects of contaminants, and
providing opportunities for customers to be involved in water system
decision-making.
Source water protection is the first barrier in the Multiple Barrier
Approach.
Must be part of the required Water System Plan or Small Water
System Management Program.
Include:
Susceptibility assessments to determine how
susceptible the source(s) are to contamination.
Delineation of 6-month, 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year time of
travel zones that show the land area contributing water (and
potential contamination) to the source.
Inventory of potential contaminant sites, which must be
updated every two years.
Documentation of notification letters to:
Owners and operators of potential contaminant sites
Regulatory agencies
Local emergency responders
Contingency plan that makes provisions in case of a drinking
water emergency.
Watershed Control Programs:
Are required for all Group A surface water and groundwater under
the influence of surface water (GWI) sources.
Must be part of the required Water System Plan or Small Water
System Management Program.
Include:
Watershed description and inventory, including location,
hydrology, land ownership, and activities that could adversely
affect drinking water quality.
Inventory of all potential surface water contamination sites
and activities located within the watershed.
Watershed control measures (such as land ownership, relevant
written agreements, monitoring and documentation of activities
and water quality trends).
System operations, including emergency provisions.
Source Water Protection Technical Assistance
You can get immediate assistance to better understand source water
protection requirements, guidance, and tools by contacting Kitty
Weisman, State Source Water Protection Program Lead at (360) 236-3114 or
Kitty.Weisman@doh.wa.gov.
The following free on-site technical assistance is available to help
you prepare and implement your source water protection programs:
