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*Source Water Protection

Reduction of contaminant emissions and use of BMPs at the AFO source is a proactive and desirable solution from the perspective of the water utility because it is always beneficial to deal with contaminants at the source rather than trying to deal with them in the environment or after the drinking water intake. Water utilities can use Clean Water Act programs to help with source water protection to meet their Safe Drinking Water Act responsibilities. The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program can be an effective avenue for watershed pollution control, and water utilities should be proactive in any development of TMDLs in their watershed. Using TMDLs helps to provide a good scientific basis for recommending pollution reduction BMPs, and also can help to increase stakeholder involvement. Assorted funding sources , such as Clean Water Act Section 319 grant funds , are available for environmental assessment, protection, restoration and education projects.

Sources of information for planning and implementing source water protection programs include the following:

USEPA Source Water Protection webpage contains links to a variety of guidance materials
USEPA Annotated Bibliography of Source Water Materials (USEPA 2003f).
USEPA draft Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect our Waters (USEPA 2005d)
Introduction to EPA’s Drinking Water Source Protection Programs (USEPA 2003e)
Source Water Protection: Best Management Practices and Other Measures for Protecting Drinking Water Supplies (USEPA 2002d)
State Source Water Assessment and Protection Programs Guidance: Final Guidance (USEPA 1997c)
Protecting and Restoring America's Watersheds: Status, Trends, and Initiatives in Watershed Management (USEPA 2001c)
Getting in Step: A Guide for Conducting Watershed Outreach Campaigns (Tetra Tech, Inc. 2003)
USEPA Watershed Academy On-Line Training Modules (available at www.epa.gov/watertrain/, e.g., www.epa.gov/watertrain/pdf/swp.pdf (January 2003) and www.epa.gov/watertrain/pdf/swpbmp.pdf (August 2002)).
USEPA National Compliance Assistance Center website - information on animal production practices and BMPs
USEPA Animal Feeding Operations (AFO) Virtual Information Center website
AwwaRF Source Water Protection Reference Manual (CDM 2002)
Source Water Protection: Effective Tools and Techniques You Can Use (1999 Participant Manual) (AWWA 1999)
Effective Watershed Management for Surface Water Supplies (Robbins et al. 1991)
Guidance to Utilities on Building Alliances with Watershed Stakeholders (Raucher and Goldstein 2001)
Protecting the Source: Land Conservation and the Future of America’s Drinking Water (Ernst 2004)
Path to Protection: Ten Strategies for Successful Source Water Protection (Ernst and Hart 2005)
Source Protection Handbook: Using Conservation to Protect Drinking Water Supplies (Hopper and Ernst 2005)
Source Protection: A National Guidance Manual for Surface Water Supplies (available at http://www.neiwpcc.org) (NEIWPCC 2000)
The Center for Watershed Protection provides basic templates to help with design of watershed protection programs; see www.stormwatercenter.net
From Source to Tap: Guidance on the Multi-Barrier Approach to Safe Drinking Water (CCME 2002)
Source Water Assessment & Protection Workshop Guide, Second Edition. (Herpel 2004; Groundwater Foundation, www.groundwater.org)