source water protection program division of drinking and ground waters
TRANSCRIPT
Source Water Protection Source Water Protection ProgramProgram
Division of Drinking and Ground Waters
Source Water ProtectionWhat we will cover:
Background (What, Why, How)
What Ohio EPA is doing
What you can do now
“What is SWAP?” ELEVATOR SPEECH:Source water protection (SWAP) is protecting the area around a public water system’s wells or intake.
The program was created by the Safe Drinking Drinking Water Act (1986 and 1996)
In Ohio, the SWAP program is administered by Ohio EPA’s Division of Drinking and Ground Waters
BackgroundSafe Drinking Water Act was originally
passed by Congress in 1974 to protect public health by regulating the nation's public drinking water supply. The law was amended in 1986 creating the
Wellhead Protection ProgramAmended again in 1996 and requires many
actions to protect drinking water and its sources: rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells.
BackgroundThe 1996 Amendments to the Safe
Drinking Water Act Require Every State to Develop and Implement a Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP) Plan that Includes:Determining the source area for all public
water systems (PWS).Identifying potential contaminant sources.Determining the susceptibility of the PWS to
contamination.
Public Water SystemsCurrently (August 2015) Ohio has:
4,223 Ground Water Systems (plus 124 systems that purchase water from them)
114 Surface Water Systems (plus 189 systems that purchase water from them)
Determine the area to be protected (delineation)
Locate potential sources of contamination (inventory)
Decide protective strategies (protection plan)
Source Water Protection – WHAT?
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1993 (403,000 sickened, over 104 died) - Cryptosporidiosis
Walkerton, Ontario, 2000 (2,500 sickened, 7 died) – E. coli
Put-in-Bay, 2004 (1,400 sickened)
Grand Lake St. Marys, 2010 (dog deaths, human illnesses)- Microcystin
Source Water Protection – WHY?
Dayton fire, 1987 ($12 million)
1994 EDB spill on Ohio River (water shipments, monitoring costs)
Monroeville, 2000 (atrazine and nitrate led to new reservoir – $2.6 million)
Source Water Protection – WHY?
2001-2005: Ohio EPA sent Drinking Water Source Assessment Reports to public water systems.
Included maps of protection zones and potential contaminant sources
Source Water Protection – HOW?
Delineation method differs for ground water vs. surface water systems
Surface Water Ground Water
Source Water Protection – HOW?
Ground Water Delineation
A protection area is the area surrounding a well or wellfield that contributes water to the well. Ohio uses a five year time of travel as the basis of the protection area.
Delineation Approach
Method is selected based on:Hydrogeologic SettingAvailability of DataPump Rate
Method does not vary by type of public water system.
… and delineation methods differ for different types of surface water systems:
Inland Streams Ohio River Lake Erie
Source Water Protection – HOW?
Potential Contaminant Source Inventory
Initial Inventory
Land Use Analysis
Site Visit
Databases Compiled for Initial Potential Contaminant Source InventoryUSEPA DATABASES
(10)- Airborne Emissions- Superfund (CERCLA)- Sites involving actions filed
for U.S. EPA. (DOCKET)-TSD facilities owned and
operated by Federal agencies
-Toxic Release Inventory sites
- National Compliance Database for FIFRA and the TSCA
- NPDES permit holding facilities
- RCRA Hazardous waste handlers
- Pesticide-producing establishments
- PCB Facilities
Additional Databases Searched (21)- Abandoned mine lands- Oil & Gas Wells - Class 1 UIC wells- Located Class 5 UIC wells- Confined Animal Feedlots- Construction and demolition debris
landfills- Industrial landfills- Municipal landfills- Residual waste landfills- Inactive/closed landfills- Unknown status landfills- Surface impoundments
- Town Gas Sites- Hospitals- Cemeteries- Airports- Leaking Underground Storage
Tanks- Underground Storage Tanks- Hazardous waste sites with ground
water monitoring information.- Sites reported to Ohio EPA
suspected of being contaminated
Detailed InventoryField Visit
Verify and correct database informationLocate additional potential contaminant
sources
Enter information into GIS database
Susceptibility AnalysisDescription of Hydrologic SettingSummary of Potential Contaminant
SourcesReview of Water Quality DataPointers to Protection Activities
Use it for Consumer Confidence Reports
Educate Local Residents
Complete a Protection “Management” Plan
Now That I’ve Got the SWAP Report …What Do I Do With It?
Public EducationAs Part of the Protection Plan
Community Systems: Community-Wide Campaign
Noncommunity Systems: Employee Education
Agriculture: Soil & Water, Farm Bureau
Rural Residential: Realtor, Bankers, Health Department
Injection Wells: Community Campaign
Public Involvement Stakeholders
Volunteers for Inventory
Meetings with:
Health Departments
Soil & Water
City Administration
Community Meetings
County Farm Bureau Meetings
Next Steps
Obtain Endorsement of
- Completed Plan
Implement Protection Strategies
- Education
- Best Management Practices
Source Water Protection – HOW?The Protection Plan Must Address:
Education and outreachDrinking water shortage and emergency
responsePotential contaminant source control strategiesNeed for additional water quality monitoring Implementation scheduleCommitment to update at least every ten years
Guidance for developing a Protection Plan is available athttp://www.epa.ohio.gov/ddagw/SWAP.aspx, under the Protection Planning tab
Source Water Protection – HOW?
What Is Ohio EPA Doing to Promote Source Water Protection?Providing SWAP assessmentsOffering Protection Planning workshopsMaintaining a detailed Web pageTracking ‘substantial implementation’Coordinating sampling for “Drinking Water
Beneficial Use”Monitoring hazardous algal blooms on
drinking water sources
Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) ResponseOEPA samples PWS raw and finished water if there is
likelihood of cyanotoxins entering the water treatment plant
However, OEPA does not duplicate PWS cyanotoxin sampling if PWS is following Ohio’s protocol and shares data with OEPA.
OEPA uses NOAA Lake Erie HAB bulletins to target sampling
OEPA continues sampling until cyanotoxins are below the threshold in two consecutive samples and bloom has dissipated.
What Can You Do to Promote Source Water Protection?
Promote CoordinationMost SWAP goals are also goals for other programs:Prevent urban runoff – MS4 program, Watershed
Action PlansPrevent agricultural runoff – NPS, TMDL,
Watershed Action Plans, Farm Bill programs …Promote green technologies – innumerable
organizations, commercial and non-profitPromote long-range planning – community’s
planning department, and regional planning organizations, Balanced Growth plans
So … why not incorporate SWAP goals and measurements into these program’s workplans?
Promote CoordinationFor example, over the past 6 years, the watershed
coordinator for the Chagrin River Watershed Partners:
Facilitated adoption of model regulations Helped with one dam removal/700 feet of
floodplain restorationHelped implement 3 local nonpoint source
projectsCoordinated restoration of a lakeImplemented 2 low-impact development projectsDeveloped Balanced Growth PlanUpdated model ordinances
Promote “Green Technologies”Strategies to reduce urban runoff --Rooftop gardens --Rain barrels --Rain gardens --Permeable pavement --Constructed wetlands --Retention basins --Separation of stormwater from sanitary wastewater
Rooftop garden at Ohio EPA’s Columbus office reduces the building’s heating/ cooling costs and moderates rooftop runoff to the Scioto River after storms
Promote “Green Technologies”Strategies to reduce agricultural runoff
--Filter strips along streams and around sinkholes
--No-till farming--Tile stops
--Winter cover crops (ryegrass, etc.) -- Integrated Pest Management
For more information on SWAP, please contact:
Richard Kroeger, Ohio EPA, Northwest District Office (Bowling Green), 419-373-4101
Pam Nixon, Ohio EPA, Northeast District Office (Twinsburg), 330-963-1233
For information on HABs in DW sources:Heather Raymond, Ohio EPA, Central Office
(Columbus), 614-644-2911 [email protected]