source water protection program division of drinking and ground waters

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

richard.kroeger@epa.ohio.gov

Pam Nixon, Ohio EPA, Northeast District Office (Twinsburg), 330-963-1233

pamela.nixon@epa.ohio.gov

For information on HABs in DW sources:Heather Raymond, Ohio EPA, Central Office

(Columbus), 614-644-2911 heather.raymond@epa.ohio.gov