Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Source Water Protection:Regulatory Requirements &

Case Studies

Bryony Stasney, L.Hg., Source Water Quality LeadHeather Cannon, Regional Planner

Eastern Regional OperationsOffice of Drinking Water

Washington State Department of

HealthDivision of Environmental Health

Office of Drinking Water

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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Mission

To protect the health of the

people of Washington Stateby ensuring safe

and reliabledrinking water.

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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Source Water ProtectionOutline

Regulatory framework Planning Implementation Case studies

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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Public Water System Classification

Group A – 4,000 (serve 98% of WA) 15 or more connections 25 or more people per day for 60 or more

days per year

Group B – 13,000 (serve 2% of WA) Less than 15 connections Serve water less than 60 days per year

Private wells – individual wells

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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Group A Public Water Systems Regulated by

Federal Safe Drinking Water Act State Drinking Water Regulations

DOH Office of Drinking Water (ODW) Implements and enforces regulations Provides technical assistance

Source Water Protection Required for all Group A systems

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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Group B Public Water Systems

Not subject to Federal regulations ODW has agreements with many

county health departments to regulate Group B systems

Source Water Protection 100 ft radius sanitary control area Identify potential contaminant sources

within 600 ft of source

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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Private Water Systems

Individual wells serving one residence

Not subject to State regulations

Regulated at the local level e.g., building permits

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Relationship Between Group A’s and Group B’s

Group B and individual wells represent a potential source of contamination for Group A aquifers and should be considered in any protection strategy

Group A source water protection will likely protect some Group B and individual wells

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Source Water Protection Regulations for Group A systems

Federal: Safe Drinking Water Act 1986 - Wellhead Protection Program

1996 amendments - Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP)

State: Chapter 246-290 WAC Source approval

Planning

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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Source Water ProtectionSource Approval

For new Group A sources, both wells and surface water, WAC 246-290-130 requires basic source water protection elements for source approval

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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Source Water Protection Planning Requirements

Required to prepare: Water System Plan or Small Water System Management Program & Source Water Protection Plan

A source water protection plan is either… included in the WSP or SWSMP a separate plan

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Source Water Protection WAC Groundwater WAC 246-290-135 (2&3)

Sanitary control area Susceptibility assessment Wellhead protection areas (time of travel zones) Contaminant inventory Notification to contaminant source

owner/operators, regulatory agencies, and emergency responders

Contingency plan Update every two years

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Source Water ProtectionWAC cont.

Surface Water WAC 246-290-135(4) Watershed description including hydrology Contaminant inventory Control measures – ownership or agreements System operations & emergency plan Water quality trends Update every six years

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

What is Source Water Protection?

Planning process that emphasizes protection of:

Prevent loss of drinking water quality and quantity

Focus on prevention because of cost and difficulty to replace source

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Wellhead Aquifer

Surface water Watershed

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Benefits of Source Water Protection

Source protection is first line of defense in “multiple-barrier” protection approachPublic health protectionPrevent emergenciesEconomic benefitsEnvironmental benefitsPublic confidence

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Source Water Protection Steps

Form a team

Identify protection areas

Inventory contamination sources

Develop a plan with actions

Implement plan

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Protection Areas

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Calculated fixed Groundwater flow

modeling

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Potential Contaminant Sources

Industrial and commercial activities

Animal feeding operations Agriculture Septic systems Underground storage tanks Group B and individual wells Landfills Stormwater

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Plan Must Include ActionsAction is Critical for Protection! Sanitary and watershed control• Land acquisition / easements• Restrictive covenants

Land use controls Best management practices Monitoring Water conservation Emergency preparedness and response plan Public education

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Implement the Plan

Develop a schedule Assign responsible party for each action Carry out actions according to schedule Track progress Measure results Re-evaluate every 2 years

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Washington’s Source Water Protection Program

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Program elements Online GIS map – SWAP Outreach and assistance Coordinate with other agencies Grant program

Program goal Empower you to achieve protection!

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Source Water Protection Grant Program

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Provides up to $30,000 for implementing high-priority actions identified in a plan Land acquisition and protection Studies Monitoring Education GIS work

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Case Study: Freeman School District

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New well site

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Case Study: Tumwater

Solvents exceeding MCL Expensive studies Well replacement over $800,000 Adopted ordinances regulating

location of certain businesses

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Case Study: Island County Clean Water District

Sole source aquifer Heavy development

pressures – including Group B’s and individual wells

Lack of funding to carry out critical environmental and public health duties

Created special purpose funding district

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Case Study: City of Vancouver

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Chrome plating and dry cleaning businesses, and leaking storage tanks threatened sole source aquifer

Adopted aquifer protection ordinance prohibiting discharges, and requiring chemical disclosure, inspections, and Best Management Practices

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Case Study: SAJB Wellhead Protection

Sole source aquifer Groundwater flow model update

$30,000 DOH grant Model Idaho portion of the aquifer

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Fine tune model Better protect the

aquifer from stormwater impacts and other threats

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

Take Away Messages

Source water protection actions benefit all drinking water wells (As, Bs, indiv wells).

Being proactive is far less expensive than dealing with an avoidable contamination problem.

Collaboration and cooperation with all interest groups is key to success.

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Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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Thank You

Public Health - Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington

Washington State Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Office of Drinking Water

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For more information: Kitty Weisman

State Source Water Protection Program Lead(360) 236-3114 or kitty.weisman@doh.wa.gov

Bryony StasneyEastern Source Water Quality Program Lead(509) 329-2132 or bryony.stasney@doh.wa.gov

Heather CannonEastern Regional Planner(509) 329-2121 or heather.cannon@doh.wa.gov