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Source Water Collaborative’s Call to Action Resource Document
Existing and Forthcoming Tools & Opportunities to Improve Drinking Water Source Assessment and Protection
Compared to just a few years ago, we collectively have a host of tools at our disposal that make data/information more accessible, searchable, and relatable. While these tools don’t obviate the challenges involved in protecting drinking water, they offer new opportunities to mobilize necessary information to support key actions. These tools are highlighted in sections below.
1. Update/Improve Source Water Assessments and Protection Plans
Source water assessments provide the key foundation for developing and implementing source water protection plans. The source water assessment process includes:
§ locating sites of actual and potential sources of contamination (using GIS mapping, if possible) upstream of surface water intakes, and within wellhead protection areas for public water systems; and
§ determining the susceptibility of the drinking water source to contamination.
Accurate data about sources of drinking water (both quality and quantity) and threats to drinking water is critical for supporting actionable steps to prevent and, if necessary, mitigate contamination.
Tool for Identifying Potential Risks:
Drinking Water Mapping Application for Protecting Source Waters (DWMAPS):
EPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) is developing a new tool to support updates to source water assessment and protection plans.DWMAPS is a web-based mapping tool that will allow users to identify and analyze potential risks to local source water.Features of the map also inform protective actions: for example, one feature of the tool is designed to help users apply the Clean Water Act to protect sources of drinking water. DWMAPS will also offer web services that allow users to import data from DWMAPS into their own GIS platforms.The tool is expected to be available to states and water utilities in mid 2015 and at a later date to the public.
Additional tools include:
Now Available: New ToolsTool Name / Purpose / Tool Audience / Location / Example
STORET / Warehouse for monitoring data. Includes water utility raw/source water monitoring data and USGS stream gage data. Can be used for baseline analyses and to show trends in water quality and quantity. / State programs, utilities, federal agencies, public / http://www.epa.gov/storet/dbtop.html / Determine in-stream pollutant concentrations downstream of a NPDES discharger in your source water protection area.
SPARROW / Models and maps for nutrient loading in watersheds across the US. / State programs, utilities, federal agencies, public / http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/sparrow/ / Determine the sources, fate, and transport or nitrogen and phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
NPDAT / Maps of data relevant to nonpoint sources of contamination, including SPARROW and USGS monitoring data. / State programs, utilities, federal agencies, public / http://gispub2.epa.gov/npdat/ / Locate watersheds with the highest nutrient loading rates and determine % land use in those watersheds.
Inland Sensitivity Atlas / EPA Region 5 mapping pilot overlaying inland infrastructure with oil pipelines and other vulnerabilities. / State programs, utilities, public / http://www.umrba.org/isa.htm / Map hazardous material sites and soil storage pipelines near intakes. Deliver Atlas information to first responders.
PIMMA (NPMS mapper is public version) / Maps of the locations of hazardous material pipelines in the US. / State and federal agencies, pipeline managers, public utilities. Must apply for access. / http://tinyurl.com/k4ljqby / Determine if your wellhead protection area contains a hazardous liquid pipeline, gas transmission pipeline, liquefied natural gas plant, or breakout tank.
CAMEO / Maps of chemical storage/Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) data in relation to drinking water sources. / Front-line chemical emergency planners and responders / http://www2.epa.gov/cameo / Download data on above-ground storage tanks in specific states to overlay in GIS with community landmarks, neighborhood facilities and residences.
ECHO / Information and maps of facility inspections, enforcement, and violation history. / State and federal agencies, utilities, public, NGOs / http://echo.epa.gov/?redirect=echo / Locate NDPES dischargers in non-compliance and significant non-compliance.
DMR Loading Tool / Maps and data of point sources of contamination, including NPDES dischargers and TRI facilities. / State and federal agencies, utilities, public, NGOs / http://cfpub.epa.gov/dmr/ / Locate dischargers of specific contaminants, and determine annual and daily average discharge.
Regional and state tools / A variety of databases and mapping tools exist at the state and regional level. A few examples are listed here. / Idaho Department of Environmental Quality mapping: https://www.deq.idaho.gov/assistance-resources/maps-data.aspx
Alaska map of aquifer exemptions: http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=5331521d1e7f44778b4bd1d02cd50517
Available 2015: New Tools
DWMAPS / Support updates of source water assessments and protection plans / State programs with impacts on water quality, utilities, NGOs, the public / Summer 2015 / Determine how many hours’ distance between your intake and a potential source of contamination.
Successful Examples of Updating Assessments to Prioritize Risks:
Merrimack River Initiative (located in Massachusetts and New Hampshire):The Merrimack River is a source of drinking water for 600,000 people in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Sometimes referred to as the “cradle of the Americanindustrial revolution," the river hosted the first large-scalefactory townin the country and continues to support industrial activity along the river. In response to the spill in West Virginia, EPA Region 1, the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection, and the New Hampshire Dept. of Environmental Services Drinking Water Programs initiated a coordination effort between states, EPA, and local emergency responders. The partners are planning to target above ground storage tank inspections, encourage spill response planning, and host spill response exercises. The initiative will include workshops with above ground (AST) owners, city officials, and public drinking water suppliers.
2. Protect Sources of Drinking Water, Connecting with Key Partners
Harnessing the authorities, resources, and expertise of a diverse group of partners is essential to effective source water protection. Team efforts are often more effective than acting alone. However, greater collaboration requires both learning to effectively communicate with potential partners and overcoming institutional barriers. Several informative resources are available to support collaborative efforts to protect drinking water sources:
Tools for working with key partners:
Online toolkits to facilitate collaboration among various stakeholders are available through the Source Water Collaborative. Each is focused on translating the terms and concepts underlying practice in key source water protection arenas. For example:
Opportunities to Protect Drinking water Sources and Advance Watershed Goals through the Clean Water Act. The goal of the Toolkit is to show how state Clean Water Act (CWA) and Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) program staff and managers can more routinely and more intentionally coordinate CWA and SDWA activities to achieve improvements in the quality of our waters. This toolkit was developed by a state-EPA workgroup (with all EPA Headquarters water offices, several Regions, and several states). It focuses on opportunities for collaboration and synergy across clean water, drinking water, and ground water programs. The toolkit is organized using each of the principal tools established under the Clean Water Act including: water quality standards and impaired waters listings; NPDES permits; and nonpoint sources and TMDLs.
Additional tools include:
Now Available: New ToolsTool Name / Purpose / Tool Audience / Location / Example
How-to-Collaborate Toolkit / Collection of tips, meeting materials, and resources to support forming partnerships to protect drinking water. / State source water programs, utilities, local governments, NGOs, and others interested in collaboration. / www.sourcewatercollaborative.org/how-to-collaborate-tool / The Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative provided example meeting minutes and “lessons learned” to the toolkit.
Conservation Partners Toolkits / Tips for successful partnership with NRCS State Conservationists and local conservation districts, to encourage practices that protect drinking water sources. / Federal, state, watershed/regional, and local parties interested in promoting source water protection actions / http://www.sourcewatercollaborative.org/swp-conservation-partners-toolkit/ / Conservationists and source water stakeholders in Connecticut worked together to achieve a USDA NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) grant.
Opportunities to Protect Drinking Water and Advance Watershed Goals Through the Clean Water Act / Collection of tips and recommendations for applying provisions of the CWA to protect sources of drinking water. / A Toolkit for State, Interstate, Tribal and Federal Water Program Managers / http://www.gwpc.org/cwa-sdwa-coordination-toolkit / The Administrative Code of Ohio requires all NDPES permittees to notify downstream public water systems in case of accidental spills. This requirement facilitates swift emergency response.
Coming Soon: New Tools for 2015
CWA Toolkit for Local Source Water Stakeholders / Provide information about opportunities for input to CWA tools and processes affecting drinking water sources at the watershed and local levels. / SWC member organizations (water utilities and local-level constituents) / Fall 2015
Successful Examples of Source Water Protection and Coordination/Collaboration: Our goal is for source water protection to become “hardwired” into the fabric of federal, state, and local government entities and organizations so that it happens automatically, rather than depending on the efforts of particular individuals.
Collaboration and partnerships lead to efficientworking relationships that accomplish mutual goals over time. See the Source Water Collaborative’s map of existing collaboratives forinformation and examples.
Partnership Opportunities:
· State emergency management agency, or local emergency management committee: Communicate with your local emergency management operatives to coordinate notification in case of emergencies. These partnerships can help utilities swiftly access spill and disaster information relevant to their drinking water supplies. FEMA hazard mitigation programs may apply to water and wastewater utilities: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/funding/fedfunds/hmap.cfm.
· US Endowment for Forestry & Communities: The U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, the World Resources Institute, and The Cadmus Group, Inc. were awarded a two-year USDA NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant in 2014 to conduct a comparative analysis of investment-based source water protection programs in forested watersheds in the United States.
· NRCS and Forest Service Chiefs’ Joint Landscape Restoration Initiative: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/mt/home/?cid=STELPRDB1246412 The purpose of this initiative is to: restore lands across large landscapes regardless of ownership; reduce wildfire threats to communities and landowners; protect water quality and supply and improve habitat for at-risk species seamlessly across public and private lands. This effort was launched in 2014 in 13 priority forested watersheds to leverage technical and financial resources and coordinate conservation activities on adjacent public and private lands.
· The NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP): http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/farmbill/rcpp/
The RCPP promotes coordination between NRCS and its partners to deliver conservation assistance to producers and landowners. RCPP encourages partners to join in efforts with producers to increase the restoration and sustainable use of soil, water, wildlife and related natural resources on regional or watershed scales. TheRCPP was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill to streamline conservation efforts by combining four programs into one (the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program, Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative, and the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion).TheRCPPwill provide $1.2 billion in funding over the life of the five-year program through three funding pools:
o 35 percent of total program funding is directed tocritical conservation areas(including Great Lakes Region, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Mississippi River Basin, Longleaf Pine Range, Columbia River Basin, California Bay Delta, Prairie Grasslands, and the Colorado River Basin);
o 40 percent is directed to regional or multi-state projects through anational competitive process; and
o 25 percent is directed to state-level projects through acompetitive process established by NRCS state leaders.
· Browse other partnership opportunities, including funding opportunities, with the How to Collaborate Toolkit (http://www.sourcewatercollaborative.org/how-to-collaborate-toolkit/), which features resources like
o “Find Key Partners” section (http://www.sourcewatercollaborative.org/how-to-collaborate-toolkit/considering/partners/)
o Capacity for Watershed Protection Investment Dashboard (http://www.efc.sog.unc.edu/reslib/item/capacity-watershed-protection-investment-dashboard#)
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3. Activate Rapid Emergency Notification, Mitigation, and Resiliency Measures
Protective, preventative actions are the backbone of source water protection. However, preventative measures may be overwhelmed by an unexpected threat or contamination spill, and therefore it becomes necessary to mitigate damage and recover as soon as possible. Adopting an “all hazards” emergency planning and operations strategy both informs preventative measures and improves response and resiliency when emergencies occur. It is helpful for these strategies, including notification plans, to be coordinated with operators of chemical facilities and other discharge sites and systems, drinking water utilities, relevant government agencies and partners, and other potentially impacted downstream or nearby drinking water systems and sites.
Tools for Emergency Response and Resiliency:
Water/Wastewater Agency Response Networks (WARNs): A powerful tool for emergency response and resilience is a WARN, which is an intrastate network of "utilities helping utilities" to respond to and recover from emergencies by sharing resources with one another. The WARN framework provides a forum for maintaining emergency contacts, providing expedited access to specialized resources, and facilitating training on resource exchange during an emergency.The American Water Works Association (AWWA) and EPA have developed resources for establishing and maintaining mutual aid and assistance programs for utilities in emergency events including on-going training exercises, see www.NationalWARN.org.
Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC): WaterISAC collects and disseminates threat alerts to thousands of water and wastewater utility professionals on a range of dangers to water utilities, including source water contamination incidents. WaterISAC provides direct access to extensive contaminant databases containing details on a chemical or microbiological contaminant's potential health effects, treatment techniques, lab methods and other aspects. Drinking water and wastewater utilities; local, state and federal government water, health and emergency management offices; and other water and emergency management organizations can sign up for WaterISAC at www.waterisac.org.
Additional tools and resources include:
Now Available: New ToolsTool Name / Purpose / Audience / Location
ANSI/AWWA G300 Source Water Protection Operational Guidance / This management standard describes critical elements for the effective protection of source waters. / Water Utility / http://www.awwa.org/store/productdetail.aspx?productid=39814230
ANSI/AWWA G440 Emergency Preparedness Practices / This management standard provides minimum requirements to establish and maintain an acceptable level of emergency preparedness based on the identified and perceived risks facing utilities in the water sector. / Water Utility / http://www.awwa.org/store/productdetail.aspx?productid=28052
AWWA M19 Emergency Planning for Water Utilities / This manual offers guidance and tools for water and wastewater managers in preparing for either natural or human-caused emergencies. / Water Utility / http://www.awwa.org/store/productdetail.aspx?productid=6708
ANSI/AWWA J100 Risk and Resilience Management / This standard sets requirements for all-hazards risk and resilience analysis and management for the water sector and prescribes methods that can be used for addressing these requirements. / Water Utility / http://www.awwa.org/store/productdetail.aspx?productid=21625
Planning for an Emergency Water Supply (EPA/AWWA) / Provision of emergency water supply involves collaboration and partnership between various levels of government. Although this document is not guidance as to how to comply with any particular law, it provides a helpful review of the roles and responsibilities among various levels of government regarding emergency water supplies. / Water Utility, State Primacy Agency, Emergency Management / http://www.awwa.org/Portals/0/files/resources/water%20knowledge/rc%20emergency%20prep/Emergencywater.PDF
ICWater/ RiverSpill / Downstream modeling of contaminant plumes and concentrations at vulnerable facilities. Used in spill disaster situations, including the 2014 spill of MCHM into Elk River. / Water Utility, State Primacy Agency / https://www.leidos.com/products/marine/icwater
Water Contaminant Information Tool (WCIT) / WCIT contains information on contaminants of concern to water security, including response guidelines and treatment options. / Water Utility, State Primacy Agency / http://www.epa.gov/wcit/
Water Laboratory Alliance (WLA) / WLA is an integrated nationwide network of laboratories that has the capability and capacity to analyze water samples in the event of natural, intentional, or unintentional water incidents involving chemical, biological, or radiochemical contaminants. / Water Utility, State Primacy Agency / http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/wla/
Community Based Water Resiliency / Tool for community self-assessment of vulnerability to hurricanes, tornadoes, aging infrastructure and intentional contamination. Outlines sector interdependencies and links to training materials. / Local community, water utility / http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/communities/index.cfm
For more tools, please browse the Emergency Planning, Response and Recovery webpage from the EPA’s Water Security Division.