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FEDERAL
ACTIVITIES:
Under
the Safe Drinking Water Act, states are required to develop comprehensive
Source Water Assessment Programs (SWAP) that will:
- Identify
the areas that supply public tap water;
- Inventory
contaminants and assess water system susceptibility to contamination;
- Inform the
public of the results.
While the Safe
Drinking Water Act requires that states prepare a Source Water Assessment
Program, EPA only encourages that States also prepare Source Water
Protection Programs.
Funds are available
to states through the recently established Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund (DWSRF). Most states will build on work already in
progress in wellhead and watershed protection programs.
Once completed,
assessments can be used to focus prevention resources on drinking
water protection. EPA strongly encourages linking the source water
assessments to implementation of source water protection programs.
EPA has developed guidance
which provides information on options for protection programs
and available funding under the DWSRF.
STATE
OF CALIFORNIA ACTIVITIES:
The
California Department of Health Services (DHS) has developed and
received U.S. EPA approval for California's Source Water Assessment
and Protection Program. Titled the Drinking Water Source Assessment
and Protection Program (DWSAP), it is intended to address assessments,
and also to facilitate the development of protection programs for
both ground and surface waters. The DHS Drinking Water Program coordinated
the effort with technical support from the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB).
Since DHS only
has about $7.5 million available to perform all source water assessments,
which amounts to about $400 per source, DHS is encouraging water
suppliers to perform their own assessments. DHS is currently preparing
materials for the assessments and prioritizing the work to be done.
All assessments must be compiled by 2003.
To get up-to-date
information on DWSAP activities, schedule, draft guidance documents,
and other source water protection efforts in the State of California,
visit
the DHS Web site .
ACWA
ACTIVITIES:
ACWA
has a very active Source Water Protection work group. The work group
is part of the Water Quality Committee's Safe Drinking Water Subcommittee.
The work group has been active in all phases of source protection
regulation at the federal and state level.
ACWA submitted
comments and participated in public meetings during the preparation
of the federal Source Water Assessment
Program . ACWA is also part of California's Source Assessment and Protection work
group , participating on both the Policy Advisory Committee
(PAC) and the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).
ACWA's Source
Water Protection work group has recently been progressive in trying
to implement recommendations found in the Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA). The SDWA advocates the forming of voluntary partnerships
between water agencies and any potential contributor of source water
pollution. ACWA has held two workshops that have focused on bringing
water agencies and agricultural/ranching industries together for
an educational exchange. Also present at the workshops were regulatory
agencies. ACWA's future plans involve outreach to more potential
source water degraders like mining, forestry, and other industries.
ACWA plans to continue this outreach which will hopefully develop
into voluntary source water protection partnerships.
For more information,
e-mail ACWA's Regulatory Affairs
Department.
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