Source Water Protection Program

Source Water Protection

This program is built around small water utilities, local businesses, agriculture, government, and other groups working together to develop and implement strategies to protect their drinking water sources. It is a voluntary, grassroots planning effort that builds local responsibility and creates more sustainable communities.

This cooperative program has made significant progress in reducing point source pollution from industrial, agricultural, municipal, and even household sources. The program has also made progress in the challenging area of nonpoint source pollution. Nonpoint source pollution results from activities over large areas, such as runoff from agriculture, industry, and transportation that flows into water sources. In addition to protecting the health and welfare of U.S. communities, source water protection efforts save consumers money. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates damages from soil erosion costs between $2 billion to $8 billion per year (Ribaudo, 1989). The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that public water systems spend an additional $200 million per year just to remove excess nitrate to meet federal drinking water standards (Ribaudo, 1999).