United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

EPA 440/6-90-004

April 1990

Office Of Water (4602)

Citizen’s Guide To

Ground-Water

Protection
ACKNOWLEDMENTS

This document was prepared under the direction of Marian Mlay, Director of the 

Ground-Water Protection (OGWP) and written by OGWP Project Manager Jan 
Citizen’s Guide To

Ground-Water Protection

Office of Ground-Water Protection

Office of Water

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

April 1990
CONTENTS

Page

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

CHAPTER I. Introduction ................................... 1

What is Ground Water, and Where Does It Come From? .................... 1

Where is Ground Water Stored? ........................................... 1

Does Ground Water Move? .............................................. 2

How is Ground Water Used? ............................................. 2

CHAPTER II. Ground-Water Quality ........................... 3

How Does Ground Water Become Contaminated? ............................

What Kinds of Substances Can Contaminate Ground Water,

3

and Where Do They Come From? ............ . ......................... 4

What Can Be Done After Contamination Has Occurred? ........................ 6

CHAPTER III. Government Ground-Water Protection Activities ...... 8

Are There Federal Laws and Programs to Protect Ground Water? ................. 8

Do the States Have Laws or Programs to Protect Ground Water? ................. 9

CHAPTER IV. Citizen and Community Roles ........................ 11

What Information Do You and Your Community Need? ....................... 1 1

What Can Your Community Do to Protect Its Ground Water? ................... 13

How Can You Clean Up Your Own Act? ................................... 17

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

APPENDICES

New Information for the 1999 Reprinted Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Appendix 1. Potentially Harmful Components of Common Household Products . . . . . 28

ii
PREFACE

Half of all Americans and more than 95

percent of rural Americans get their household water supplies from underground

sources of water, or ground water. Ground

water also is used for about half of the

nation’s agricultural irrigation and nearly

one-third of the industrial water needs.

This makes ground water a vitally

important national resource.

Over the last 10 years, however, public

attention has been drawn to incidents of

ground-water contamination. This has led

to the development of ground-water

protection programs at federal, state, and

local levels. Because ground-water supplies

and conditions vary from one area to

another, the responsibility for protecting a

community’s ground-water supplies rests

substantially with the local community.

If your community relies on ground water

to supply any portion of its fresh water

needs, you, the citizen, will be directly

affected by the success or failure of a

ground-water protection program. Equally

important, you, the citizen, can directly

affect the success or failure of your

community’s ground-water protection

efforts.

This guide is intended to help you take an

active and positive role in protecting your

community’s ground-water supplies. It will

introduce you to the natural cycle that

supplies the earth with ground Water,

briefly explain how ground water can

become contaminated, examine ways to

protect our vulnerable ground-water

supplies, and, most important of all,

describe the roles you and your community can play in protecting valuable

ground-water supplies.

iii

CHAPTER I. Introduction

Many people have never heard of ground

water. That’s not really so surprising since it

isn’t readily visible-ground water can be

considered one of our “hidden” resources.

What Is Ground Water, and

Where Does It Come From?

Actually, ground water occurs as part of

what can be called the oldest recycling

program-the hydrologic cycle. The

hydrologic cycle involves the continual

movement of water between the earth and

the atmosphere through evaporation and

precipitation. As rain and snow fall to the

earth, some of the water runs off the

surface into lakes, rivers, streams, and the

oceans; some evaporates; and some is

absorbed by plant roots. The rest of the

water soaks through the ground’s surface

and moves downward through the unsaturated zone, where the open spaces in rocks

and soil are filled with a mixture of air and

water, until it reaches the water table. The

water table is the top of the saturated zone,

or the area in which all interconnected

spaces in rocks and soil are filled with

water. The water in the saturated zone is

called ground water, In areas where the

water table occurs at the ground’s surface,

the ground water discharges into marshes,

lakes, springs, or streams and evaporates into

the atmosphere to form clouds, eventually

falling back to earth again as rain or snowthus beginning the cycle all over again.

Where Is Ground Water Stored?

Ground water is stored under many types

of geologic conditions. Areas where

ground water exists in sufficient quantities

to supply wells or springs are called

aquifers, a term that literally means “water

bearer.” Aquifers store water in the spaces

between particles of sand, gravel, soil, and

rock as well as cracks, pores, and channels

in relatively solid rocks. An aquifer’s

storage capacity is controlled largely by its

porosity, or the relative amount of open

space present to hold water. Its ability to

transmit water, or permeability, is based in

part on the size of these spaces and the

extent to which they are connected.

Basically, there are two kinds of aquifers:

confined and unconfined. If the aquifer is

sandwiched between layers of relatively

impermeable materials (e.g., clay), it is

called a confined aquifer Confined aquifers

are frequently found at greater depths than
unconfined aquifers. In contrast, unconfined

aquifers are not sandwiched between these

layers of relatively impermeable materials,

and their upper boundaries are generally

closer to the surface of the land.

Does Ground Water Move?

Ground water can move sideways as well as

up or down. This movement is in response

to gravity, differences in elevation, and

differences in pressure. The movement is

usually quite slow, frequently as little as a

few feet per year although it can move as

much as several feet per day in more permeable zones. Ground water can move even

more rapidly in karst aquifers, which are

areas in water soluble limestone and similar

rocks where fractures or cracks have been

widened by the action of the ground water

to form sinkholes, tunnels, or even caves.

How Is Ground Water Used?

According to the U.S. Geological Survey,

ground-water use increased from about 35

billion gallons a day in 1950 to about 87

billion gallons a day in 1980. Approximately

one-fourth of all fresh water used in the

nation comes from ground water. Whether

it arrives via a public water supply system

or directly from a private well, ground

water ultimately provides approximately 35

percent of the drinking water supply for

urban areas and 95 percent of the supply

for rural areas, quenching the thirst and

meeting other household needs of more

than 117 million people in this nation.

Overall, more than one-third of the water

used for agricultural purposes is drawn

from ground water Arkansas, Nebraska,

Colorado, and Kansas use more than 90

percent of their ground-water withdrawals

for agricultural activities. In addition,

approximately 30 percent of all ground

water is used for industrial purposes.

Ground-water use varies among the states,

with some states, such as Hawaii, Mississippi,

Florida, Idaho, and New Mexico, relying on

ground water to supply considerably more

than three-fourths of their household water

needs and other states, such as Colorado

and Rhode Island, supplying less than

one-quarter of their water needs with

ground water.

2
CHAPTER II.

Ground-Water Quality

Until the 1970s, ground water was believed

to be naturally protected from contamination. The layers of soil and particles of

sand, gravel, crushed rocks, and larger

rocks were thought to act as filters, trap

ping contaminants before they could reach

the ground water. Since then, however,

every state in the nation has reported cases

of contaminated ground water, with some

instances receiving widespread publicity.

We now know that some contaminants can

pass through all of these filtering layers

into the saturated zone to contaminate

ground water

Between 1971 and 1985, 245 ground-waterrelated disease outbreaks, with 52,181

associated illnesses, were reported. Most of

these diseases were short-term digestive

disorders. About 10 percent of all groundwater public water supply systems are in

violation of drinking water standards for

biological contamination. In addition,

approximately 74 pesticides, a number of

which are known carcinogens, have been

detected in the ground water of 38 states.

Although various estimates have been

made about the extent of ground-water

contamination, these estimates are difficult

to verify given the nature of the resource

and the difficulty of monitoring its quality.

How Does Ground Water

Become Contaminated?

Ground-water contamination can originate

on the surface of the ground, in the ground

above the water table, or in the ground

below the water table. Table 1 shows the

types of activities that can cause groundwater contamination at each level. Where a

contaminant originates is a factor that can

affect its actual impact on ground-water

quality For example, if a contaminant is

spilled on the surface of the ground or

injected into the ground above the water

table, it may have to move through numerous layers of soil and other underlying

materials before it reaches the ground water

As the contaminant moves through these

layers, a number of processes are in operation (e.g., filtration, dilution, oxidation, biological decay) that can lessen the eventual

impact of the substance once it finally

reaches the ground water. The effectiveness

of these processes also is affected by both

TABLE 1. Activities That Can Cause Ground-Water Contamination 3
the distance between the ground water and

where the contaminant is introduced and

the amount of time it takes the substance to

reach the ground water. If the contaminant

is introduced directly into the area below

the water table, the primary process that

can affect the impact of the contaminant is

dilution by the surrounding ground water

In comparison with rivers or streams,

ground water tends to move very slowly

and with very little turbulence. Therefore,

once the contaminant reaches the ground

water, little dilution or dispersion normally

occurs. Instead, the contaminant forms a

concentrated plume that can flow along

the same path as the ground water. Among

the factors that determine the size, form,

and rate of movement of the contaminant

plume are the amount and type of contaminant and the speed of ground-water movement. Because ground water is hidden from

view, contamination can go undetected for

years until the supply is tapped for use.

What Kinds of Substances Can

Contaminate Ground Water, and

Where Do They Come From?

Substances that can contaminate ground

water can be divided into two basic categories: substances that occur naturally and

substances produced or introduced by

man’s activities. Substances that occur naturally include minerals such as iron,

calcium, and selenium. Substances resulting from man’s activities include synthetic

organic chemicals and hydrocarbons (e.g.,

solvents, pesticides, petroleum products);

landfill leachates (liquids that have dripped

through the landfill and carry dissolved

substances from the waste materials),

containing such substances as heavy metals

and organic decomposition products; salt;

bacteria; and viruses. A significant number

of today’s ground-water contamination

problems stem from man’s activities and

can be introduced into ground water from

a variety of sources.

Septic Tanks, Cesspools, and Privies

A major cause of ground-water contamination in many areas of the United States is

effluent, or outflow, from septic tanks,

cesspools, and privies. Approximately onefourth of all homes in the United States

rely on septic systems to dispose of their

human wastes. If these systems are improperly sited, designed, constructed, or maintained, they can allow contamination of the

ground water by bacteria, nitrates, viruses,

synthetic detergents, household chemicals,

and chlorides. Although each system can

make an insignificant contribution to

ground water contamination, the sheer

number of such systems and their wide

spread use in every area that does not have

a public sewage treatment system makes

them serious contamination sources.

Surface Impoundments

Another potentially significant source of

ground-water contamination is the more

than 180,000 surface impoundments (e.g.,

ponds, lagoons) used by municipalities,

industries, and businesses to store, treat,

and dispose of a variety of liquid wastes

and wastewater Although these impoundments are supposed to be sealed with

compacted clay soils or plastic liners, leaks

can and do develop.

Agricultural Activities

Agricultural activities also can make significant contributions to ground-water contamination with the millions of tons of

fertilizers and pesticides spread on the

ground and from the storage and disposal

of livestock wastes. Homeowners, too, can

contribute to this type of ground-water pollution with the chemicals they apply to

their lawns, rosebushes, tomato plants, and

other garden plants.

Landfills

There are approximately 500 hazardous

waste land disposal facilities and more than
16,000 municipal and other landfills nationwide. To protect ground water, these facilities are now required to be constructed

with clay or synthetic liners and leachate

collection systems. Unfortunately these

requirements are comparatively recent, and

thousands of landfills were built, operated,

and abandoned in the past without such

safeguards. A number of these sites have

caused serious ground-water contamination problems and are now being cleaned

up by their owners, operators, or users;

state governments; or the federal government under the Superfund program (see

p. 8). In addition, a lack of information

about the location of many of these sites

makes it difficult, if not impossible, to

determine how many others may now be

contaminating ground water.

Underground Storage Tanks

Between five and six million underground

storage tanks are used to store a variety of

materials, including gasoline, fuel oil, and

numerous chemicals. The average life span

of these tanks is 18 years, and over time,

exposure to the elements causes them to

corrode. Now, hundreds of thousands of

these tanks are estimated to be leaking, and

many are contaminating ground water.

Replacement costs for these tanks are estimated at $1 per gallon of storage capacity;

a cleanup operation can cost considerably

more.

Abandoned Wells

Wells can be another source of groundwater contamination. In the years before

there were community water supply systerns, most people relied on wells to pro

vide their drinking water. In rural areas this

can still be the case. If a well is abandoned

without being properly sealed, however it

can act as a direct channel for contaminants to reach ground water.

Accidents and Illegal Dumping

Accidents also canresult in ground-water

contamination. A large volume of toxic

materials is transported throughout the

country by truck, train, and airplane. Every

day, accidental chemical or petroleum

product spills occur that, if not handled

properly, can result in ground-water contamination. Frequently, the automatic reaction of the first people at the scene of an

accident involving a spill will be to flush
the area with water to dilute the chemical.

This just washes the chemical into the soil

around the accident site, allowing it to

work its way down to the ground water. In

addition, there are numerous instances of

ground-water contamination caused by the

illegal dumping of hazardous or other

potentially harmful wastes.

Highway De-icing

A similar flushing mechanism also applies

to the salt that is used to de-ice roads and

highways throughout the country every

winter More than 11 million tons of salt are

applied to roads in the United States annually, As ice and snow melt or rain subsequently falls, the salt is washed into the

surrounding soil where it can work its way

down to the ground water. Salt also can

find its way into ground water from

improperly protected storage stockpiles.

What Can Be Done After

Contamination Has Occurred?

Unlike rivers, lakes, and streams that are

readily visible and whose contamination

frequently can be seen with the naked eye,

ground water itself is hidden from view Its

contamination occurs gradually and generally is not detected until the problem has

already become extensive. This makes

cleaning up contamination a complicated,

costly, and sometimes impossible process.

In general, a community whose groundwater supply has been contaminated has

five options:

l Contain the contaminants to prevent

their migration from their source.

l Withdraw the pollutants from the

aquifer.

l Treat the ground water where it is

withdrawn or at its point of use.

l Rehabilitate the aquifer by either

immobilizing or detoxifying the contaminants while they are still in the aquifer.

l Abandon the use of the aquifer and

find alternative sources of water

Which option is chosen by the community

is determined by a number of factors,

including the nature and extensiveness of

the contamination, whether specific

actions are required by statute, the geologic

conditions, and the funds available for the

purpose. All of these options are costly. For

example, a community in Massachusetts

chose a treatment option when the wells

supplying its public water system were contaminated by more than 2,000 gallons of

gasoline that had leaked into the ground

from an underground storage tank less

than 600 feet from one of the wells. The

town temporarily provided alternative

water supplies for its residents and then

began a cleanup process that included

pumping out and treating the contaminated water and then recharging the aquifer with the treated water. The cleanup

effort alone cost more than $3 million.

Because of the high costs and technical

difficulties involved in the various containment and treatment methods, many communities will choose to abandon the use of

the aquifer when facing contamination of

their ground-water supplies. This requires

the community to either find other water

supplies, drill new wells farther away from

the contaminated area of the aquifer,

deepen existing wells, or drill new wells in

another aquifer if one is located nearby. As

Atlantic City, New Jersey, found, these

options also can be very costly for a

community The wells supplying that city’s

public water system were contaminated by

leachate from a landfill. The city estimated

that development of a new wellfield would

cost approximately $2 million.
7
CHAPTER III.

Government Ground-Water

Protection Activities

Given the importance of ground water as a

source of drinking water for so many

communities and individuals and the cost

and difficulty of cleaning it up, common

sense tells us that the best way to guarantee

continued supplies of clean ground water

is to prevent contamination.

Are There Federal Laws

or Programs to Protect

Ground Water?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) is responsible for federal activities

relating to the quality of ground water.

EPA’s ground-water protection activities are

authorized by a number of laws, including:

l The Safe Drinking Water Act, which

authorizes EPA to set standards for maximum levels of contaminants in drinking

water, regulate the underground disposal

of wastes in deep wells, designate areas that

rely on a single aquifer for their water

supply, and establish a nationwide program

to encourage the states to develop programs to protect public water supply wells

(i.e., wellhead protection programs).

l The Resource Conservation and

Recovery Act, which regulates the storage,

transportation, treatment, and disposal of

solid and hazardous wastes to prevent contaminants from leaching into ground water

from municipal landfills, underground

storage tanks, surface impoundments, and

hazardous waste disposal facilities.

l The Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

(Superfund), which authorizes the

ment to clean up contamination

chemical spills or hazardous was

could (or already do) pose threats

environment, and whose 1986

include provisions authorizing citizens to

sue violators of the law and establishing

“community right-to-know” programs

(Title III).

l The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,

and Rodenticide Act, which authorizes EPA

to control the availability of pesticides that

have the ability to leach into ground water.

l The Toxic Substances Control Act,

which authorizes EPA to control the manufacture, use, storage, distribution, or disposal

of toxic chemicals that have the potential to

leach into ground water.

l The Clean Water Act, which authorizes

EPA to make grants to the states for the

development of ground-water protection

strategies and authorizes a number of programs to prevent water pollution from a

variety of potential sources.

The federal laws tend to focus on controlling

potential sources of ground-water contamination on a national basis. Where federal

laws have provided for general groundwater protection activities such as wellhead
protection programs or development of

state ground-water protection strategies,

the actual implementation of these pro

grams must be by the states in cooperation

with local governments.

A major reason for this emphasis on local

action is that protection of ground water

generally involves making very specific

decisions about how land is used. Local

governments frequently exercise a variety

of land-use controls under state laws.

Do the States Have Laws

or Programs to Protect

Ground Water?

According to a study conducted for EPA in

1988, most of the states have passed some

type of ground-water protection legislation

and developed some kind of ground-water

policies. State ground-water legislation can

be divided into the following subject

categories:

l Statewide strategies - Requiring the

development of a comprehensive plan to

protect the state’s ground-water resources

from contamination.

l Ground-water classification - Identifying and categorizing ground-water sources

by how they are used to determine how

much protection is needed to continue

that type of use.

l Standard setting - Identifying levels at

which an aquifer is considered to be

contaminated.

l Land-use management - Developing

planning and regulatory mechanisms to

control activities on the land that could

contaminate an aquifer.

l Ground-water funds - Establishing

specific financial accounts for use in the

protection of ground-water quality and the

provision of compensation for damages to

underground drinking water supplies (e.g.,

reimbursement for ground-water cleanup,

provision of alternative drinking water

supplies).

l Agricultural chemicals - Regulating

the use, sale, labeling, and disposal of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.

l Underground storage tanks - Establishing criteria for the registration, construction, installation, monitoring, repair,

closure, and financial responsibility associated with tanks used to store hazardous

wastes or materials.

l Water-use management - Including

ground-water quality protection in the

criteria used to justify more stringent water

allocation measures where excessive groundwater withdrawal could cause ground-water

contamination.

Appendix 1 presents a matrix showing the

types of ground-water protection legislation enacted by the states.

In addition to ground-water protection

programs states may have developed under

their own laws, one state ground-water protection program is required by federal law.

The 1986 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act established the wellhead

protection program and require each state

to develop comprehensive programs to

protect public water supply wells from contaminants that could be harmful to human

health. Wellhead protection is simply protection of all or part of the area surrounding a well from which the well’s ground

water is drawn. This is called a wellhead

protection area (WHPA). The size of the

WHPA will vary from site to site depending

on a number of factors, including the goals

of the state’s program and the geologic

features of the area.

The law specifies certain minimum compo

nents for the wellhead protection programs:

l The roles and duties of state and local

governments and public water suppliers in

the management of wellhead protection

programs must be established.
l The WHPA for each wellhead must be

delineated (i.e., outlined or defined).

l Contamination sources within each

WHPA must be identified.

l Approaches for protecting the water

supply within the WHPAs from the contamination sources (e.g., use of source controls,

education, training) must be developed.

l Contingency plans must be developed

for use if public water supplies become

contaminated.

l Provisions must be established for

proper siting of new wells to produce maximum water yield and reduce the potential

for contamination as much as possible.

l Provisions must be included to ensure

public participation in the process.

For a program to be successful, all levels of

government must participate in the wellhead protection program. The federal

government is responsible for approving

state wellhead protection programs and for

providing technical support to state and

local governments. State governments must

develop and implement wellhead protection programs that meet the requirements

of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Although

the responsibilities of local governments

depend on the specific requirements of

their state’s program, these governments

often are in the best position (and have the

greatest incentive) to ensure proper protection of wellhead areas. They have the most

to lose if their ground water becomes

contaminated.

Although the Clean Water Act does not

require states to develop ground-water protection strategies, the legislation does authorize states to take this action. As of 1989,

all 50 states have at least begun to develop

ground-water protection strategies, and

some of these are in advanced stages. Proceeding at varying paces, the states are tailoring their efforts to fit their own perceived

needs and budgets.
CHAPTER IV.

Citizen and Community Roles

In the first three chapters of this guide, you

learned how dependent our nation is on

ground water to provide water for drinking and other household uses, agriculture,

and industry You also learned a little about

the many substances that can contaminate

our ground-water supplies, where they can

come from, and how difficult and costly it

is to try to clean up ground water once it

has been contaminated. Finally, you were

given some information about current

national and state programs to protect

ground water. This chapter will focus on

what actions you and your community can

take to protect your ground-water supplies.

What Information Do You and

Your Community Need?

Because no two communities are exactly

alike in terms of hydrogeologic conditions,

resources, or problems, ground-water protection efforts should be tailored specifically

to meet the needs of each community.

Thus, before you can begin to help your

community develop an effective program

to manage its ground-water resources, you

will need the answers to some very specific

questions.

What Has Your State Done to Protect

Ground Water?

As you saw in Chapter III, the Safe Drinking

Water Act requires all states to develop

programs to protect public water supply

wells from contaminants that could be

harmful to human health. Information on

your state’s wellhead protection program

should be available from the agency in

your state that is managing this program.

(Appendix 2 contains a list of the state

agencies managing wellhead protection

programs.) Chapter III also mentioned that

all 50 states are in the process of

developing comprehensive ground-water

protection strategies. Such a strategy can

provide you with information on who has

what ground-water responsibility in the

state and on how any existing state

programs fit together A copy of your

state’s ground-water protection strategy

should be available from the agency in

your state that is managing this effort

(Appendix 2 also contains a list of these

state agencies.)

Does Your Community’s Drinking

Water Come from Ground Water,

and What Information Is Available

About Your Community’s Wells?

If your community’s drinking water comes

from ground water, you will need some

basic information about your community’s

hydrogeologic setting, including the types
of soil conditions and geologic formations

and the type, location, and depth of the

aquifer that stores the ground water In

addition, information on the community’s

wells will be needed, including whether

they are public or private, shallow or deep;

their locations; and how they are constructed. It also could be important to

know if sites have been identified for

future wells. Potential sources for this

information include your local library your

local water supply agency, your state

geological survey, a local office of the U.S.

Geological Survey (USGS), a county

agricultural extension agent, or even the

geology or engineering department of a

local university or college.

What Is the Current Quality of

Your Ground-Water Supply, and

What Actual or Potential Sources

of Contamination Are Present in

Your Community?

You will need to know if your water is

currently free from bacterial and chemical

pollution and what kinds of procedures

are in place to test or monitor groundwater quality. Initial information on the

quality of your community’s ground water

should be available from your local water

supply agency or your local health

department.

closely related to the issue of ground-water

quality is determining whether there are

activities in the community that produce or

use toxic or hazardous substances and

where underground storage tanks are

located. Information on activities using or

producing toxic or hazardous materials

may be more difficult to obtain, but the

community right-to-know provisions in the

1986 Superfund amendments may give you

a starting point These provisions require

the establishment of state planning

commissions, emergency planning districts,

and local emergency planning committees.

They also require companies that use

certain toxic or hazardous substances to

report to these committees. Companies

also are required to report serious environ

mental releases immediately All of this

information is required to be available to

the public.

Another source of information on environmental releases is available in a data
base developed by EPA called the Toxic

Chemical Release Inventory that is publicly

accessible through the National Library of

Medicine. The data include the names,

addresses, and public contacts of plants

manufacturing, processing, or using the

reported chemicals; the maximum amount

stored onsite; the estimated quantity

emitted into the air, discharged into bodies

of water, injected underground, or released

to land, methods used in waste treatment

and their efficiency, and information on

the transfer of chemicals offsite for treatment and disposal. (To obtain additional

information on this data base, see Appendix 2.) On a local level, your community’s

fire department also may be helpful in

providing information on both companies

using toxic or hazardous materials and the

location of underground storage tanks.

What Can Your Community Do

to Protect Its Ground Water?

If your community relies on ground water

for its water supplies, it has a strong incenive to protect that ground water Before a

plan or program can be developed to protect ground water, it is important to identify

existing or potential threats to the ground

water. This will generally mean conducting

an inventory to learn the location of facilities using, manufacturing, or storing

materials that have the potential to pollute

ground water.

How your community conducts this inventory will depend largely on the resources

available, particularly the number of people

available to do the work and funds. A number of communities, however, have had great

success in using groups of volunteers to

conduct their inventories. For example, the

city of El Paso, Texas, has mobilized its

senior citizens with the help of the federally

funded Retired Senior Volunteer Program

(RSVP) and the Texas Water Commission.

The inventory of existing or potential

threats to the community’s ground water

may be quite long, and it is unlikely that

your community will have the resources to

address all of these threats. How do community officials decide which threats are

the most serious or set priorities? One way

is to assess these threats on the basis of

their relative risks to the community’s

ground water This requires determining

which of the specific pollutants are most
likely to be released and reach the ground

water in concentrations high enough to

pose health risks.

In addition to having an incentive to protect

its ground water, your community has a

number of powers that can be used for that

purpose. These include implementing zoning decisions; developing land-use plans;

overseeing building and fire codes; implementing health requirements; supplying

water, sewer, and waste disposal services;

and using their police powers to enforce

regulations and ordinances. A few communities have begun developing their own

ground-water protection programs using a

variety of management tools based on

these powers.

These management tools include:

l Zoning Ordinances - To divide a

municipality into land-use districts and

separate incompatible land uses such as

residential, commercial, and industrial;

zoning also defines the type of activity that

can occur within a district and specifies

appropriate regulations that can be used to

prevent activities that could be harmful to

the community’s ground water.

l Subdivision Ordinances - Applied

when a piece of land is actually being

divided into lots for sale or development to

ensure that growth does not outpace

available local facilities such as roads,

schools, and fire protection; subdivision

ordinances also can be used to set density

standards, require open space set asides,

and regulate the timing of development, all

of which can have significant impacts on

ground-water quality.

l Site Plan Review - To determine if a

proposed development project is compatible

with existing land uses in the surrounding

area and if existing community facilities will

be able to support the planned development; this review also can be used to determine compatibility of the proposed project

with any ground-water protection goals.

l Design Standards - To regulate the

design, construction, and ongoing operation of various land-use activities by imposing specific physical requirements, such as

the use of double-walled tanks to store

chemicals underground.

l Operating Standards - To ensure the

safety of workers, other parties, and the

environment by specifying how an activity

is to be conducted, these can take the form
of best management practices (BMPs) that

define a set of standard operating procedures for use in a particular activity to limit

the threat to the environment (e.g., limits

on pesticide applications or animal feedlot

operations).

l Source Prohibitions - To prohibit the

storage or use of dangerous materials in a

defined area; these can take the form of

prohibitions of certain activities or of

restrictions on the use of certain materials.

l Purchase of Property or Development

Rights - To guarantee community control

over the activities on lands that feed water

into an aquifer, this may involve outright

purchase of the land or of a more limited

interest, such as surface-use rights.
l Public Education - To build community support for regulatory programs, such

as controls on pollution sources in special

zoning districts, and to motivate voluntary

ground-water protection efforts, such as

water conservation or household hazardous waste management.

l Ground-Water Monitoring - To assess

the quality of local aquifers by sampling

public and private wells for selected

contaminants.

l Household Hazardous Waste

Collection - To alleviate the threat to

ground water from the disposal in regular

trash pick ups, sewers, or septic systems of

household products that contain hazardous

substances or other materials that can be

harmful to ground water, such as paints,

solvents, or pesticides.

l Water Conservation - To reduce the

total quantity of water withdrawn from

ground-water aquifers and to protect

against contamination by reducing the

rate at which contaminants can spread in

the aquifer (e.g., excessive withdrawals

from an aquifer located near the ocean

can draw salt water into the aquifer and

contaminate wells).
How Can You Clean Up

Your Own Act?

So far, the emphasis has been on how you

can help your community to protect its

ground water through the development of

community-wide policies and programs.

But ground-water protection also begins at

home. How do your personal habits affect

your community’s ground-water quality?

What can you, as an individual, do to

protect your community’s ground water?

How Do You Dispose of the Polluting

Materials Used in Your Home?

You may be surprised to learn that the way

you dispose of products you use at home

can contribute to the contamination of

your community’s ground water. You may

be even more surprised to learn that a

number of the products you use at home

contain hazardous or toxic substances. The

truth is, however, that products like motor

oil, pesticides, leftover paints or paint cans,

mothballs, flea collars, weedkillers, house.

hold cleaners, and even a number of medicines contain materials that can be harmful

to ground water and to the environment in

general. (See Appendix 3 for a list of the

types of products commonly found around

homes and their potentially harmful components.) The average American disposes

of approximately one pound of this type of

waste each year So, although the amount

of any of these substances that you pour

down your drain, put in your trash, or

dump on the ground may seem insignificant to you, try multiplying it by the number of people in your community. That

amount may not seem so insignificant
Don’t Pour It Down the Drain! Anything in the ground, these harmful substances

you pour down your drain or flush down can eventually contaminate the ground

your toilet will enter your septic system or water. In addition, most community waste

your community’s sewer system. Using this water treatment plants are not designed to

method to dispose of products that contain treat many of these substances. Thus, they

harmful substances can affect your septic can eventually be discharged into bodies of

system’s ability to treat human wastes. Once surface water and cause contamination.
Don’t Put It in the Trash! Community

landfills also generally are not equipped to

handle hazardous materials. As rain and

snow pass through the landfill, the water

can become contaminated by these

products and eventually carry them into

the ground water and surface water

Don’t Dump It on the Ground!

Hazardous wastes that are dumped on or

buried in the ground can contaminate the

soil and either leach down into the ground

water or be carried into a nearby body of

surface water by runoff during rainstorms.

Do Use and Dispose of Harmful Materials

Properly! There are very few options for

disposing of hazardous products used in

your home, so the first step may be to limit

your use of such products. Whenever possible, substitute a nonhazardous product.

When that is not possible, buy only as

much as you need. Larger quantities may

be less expensive, but they leave you with

the problem of disposing of them safely.

Finally, urge community officials to sponsor periodic household hazardous waste

collection days if they have not established

this policy By helping your community to

centralize collection of hazardous household wastes for appropriate disposal, you

will be helping your community to make a

major contribution toward protecting its

ground water The saying “Garbage in,

garbage out” applies to more than

computer data bases.
How Do You Take Care of

Your Septic System?

Your septic system is designed to have its

effluent discharge into a drainage field

where it undergoes some decomposition by

microorganisms in the soil as it works its

way down to the ground water. If your

system is not pumped out frequently

enough, solid materials can leave the tank

and enter the drainage field. Any substances

poured down your drains also will enter

that drainage field-and eventually the

ground water

To prevent ground-water contamination

from your septic system:

l Have your septic system inspected

annually and pumped out regularly no

chemical or other additive can be a substitute for this, and these septic system chemicals actually can prevent your septic system

from functioning properly

l Be cautious about what you put into

your system; substances like coffee

grounds, cigarette butts, sanitary items, or

fats do not break down easily in septic systems, and chemicals like paints, solvents,

oil, and pesticides will go from your septic

system into the ground water.

l Limit the amount of water entering

your system by using water-saving fixtures

and appliances.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

If you are a homeowner, you probably take

a lot of pride in your home and the yard

surrounding it. You may apply fertilizers to

make your grass thick and green, your

flowers colorful, and your vegetable crop

abundant You also may use pesticides to

keep bugs from ruining what the fertilizers

have helped to produce. What you may not

know, however, is that many of these fertilizers and pesticides contain hazardous

chemicals that can travel through the soil

and contaminate ground water. If you feel

you must use these chemicals, use them in

moderation. This is not a case of “more is

better.” Your county extension agent can

provide information on natural ways to

control lawn, garden, and tree pests that

can reduce reliance on chemicals.
What Else Can You Do?

Get informed and get involved! Around the

country, citizens are getting involved in

their communities, volunteering their time

and energy and making a difference. If

you think one person can’t change the system, help form a group. You, alone or as

part of a group, can help to educate your

family, friends, and neighbors about the

importance of ground water to your community, And, after you've cleaned up your

own act, you can help your community

clean up its act.

REFERENCES

Born, Stephen M., Douglas A. Yanggen, and Alexander Zaporozec. A Guide to Groundwater Quality

Planning and Management for Local Governments. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey,

Madison, WI, 1987.

Concern, Inc. Groundwater: A Community Action Guide. Washington, D.C., 1989.

Cross, Brad L. and Jack Schulze. City of Hurst (A Public Water Supply Protection Strategy). Texas Water

Commission, Austin, TX, 1989.

Curtis, Christopher and Teri Anderson. A Guidebook for Organizing a Community Collection Event:

Household Hazardous Waste. Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and Western Massachusetts Coalition

for Safe Waste Management, West Springfield, MA, 1984.

Curtis, Christopher, Christopher Walsh, and Michael Przybyla. The Road Salt Management Handbook:

Introducing a Reliable Strategy to Safeguard People & Water Resources. Pioneer Valley Planning

Commission, West Springfield, MA, 1986.

Cordon, Wendy. A Citizen's Handbook on Groundwater Protection. Natural Resources Defense Council,

New York, NY, 1984.

Harrison, Ellen Z. and Mary Ann Dickinson. Protecting Connecticut's Groundwater: A Guide to

Groundwater Protection for Local Officials. Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection,

Hartford, CT, 1984.

Hrezo, Margaret and Pat Nickinson. Protecting Virginia's Groundwater: A Handbook for Local Government

Officials. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 1986.

Jaffe, Martin and Frank Dinovo. Local Groundwater Protection. American Planning Association, Chicago,

IL, 1987.

Loomis, George and Yael Calhoon. “Natural Resource Facts: Maintaining Your Septic System.”

University of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, 1988.

Maine Association of Conservation Commissions. Ground Water. . . Maine's Hidden Resource. Hallowell,

ME, 1985.

Massachusetts Audubon Society. “Groundwater and Contamination: From the Watershed into the Well.”

Groundwater Information Flyer #2. Lincoln, MA, 1984.

Massachusetts Audubon Society. “Local Authority for Groundwater Protection.” Groundwater

Information Flyer #4. Lincoln, MA, 1984.

Massachusetts Audubon Society. “Mapping Aquifers and Recharge Areas.” Groundwater Information

Flyer #3. Lincoln, MA, 1984.

Massachusetts Audubon Society. “Road Salt and Groundwater Protection.” Groundwater Information

Flyer #9. Lincoln, MA, 1987.

McCann, Alyson and Thomas P. Husband. “Natural Resources Facts: Household Hazardous Waste.”

University of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, 1988.

Mecozzi, Maureen. Groundwater: Protecting Wisconsin's Buried Treasure. Wisconsin Department of Natural

Resources, Madison, WI, 1989.

Miller, David W. Groundwater Contamination: A Special Report. Geraghty & Miller Inc., Syosset, NY, 1982.

Mullikin, Elizabeth B. An Ounce of Prevention: A Ground Water Protection Handbook for Local Officials.

Vermont Departments of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Health, and Agriculture,

Montpelier, VT, 1984.

Murphy, Jim. “Groundwater and Your Town: What Your Town Can Do Right Now.” Connecticut

Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, CT.

23
REFERENCES (continued)

National Research Council. Ground Water Quality Protection: State and Local Strategies. National Academy

Press, Washington, DC., 1986.

New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. “Groundwater: Out of Sight Not Out of

Danger” Boston, MA, 1989.

Noake, Kimberly D. Guide to Contamination Sources for Wellhead Protection. Draft. Massachusetts

Department of Environmental Quality Engineering, Boston, MA, 1988.

Office of Drinking Water A Local Planning Process for Groundwater Protection. U.S. EPA, Washington, DC.,

1989.

Office of Ground-Water Protection. Guidelines for Delineation of Wellhead Protection Areas. U.S. EPA,

Washington, DC., 1987.

Office of Ground-Water Protection. Survey of State Ground Water Quality Protection Legislation Enacted

From 1985 Through 1987. U.S. EPA, Washington, DC., 1988.

Office of Ground-Water Protection. Wellhead Protection: A Decision-Makers’ Guide. U.S. EPA, Washington,

DC., 1987.

Office of Ground-Water Protection. Wellhead Protection Programs: Tools for Local Governments. U.S. EPA

Washington, DC., 1989.

Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Citizen's Guide to Pesticides. U.S. EPA, Washington, DC., 1989.

Office of Underground Storage Tanks. Musts for USTs: A Summary of the New Regulations for

Underground Storage Tank Systems. U.S. EPA, Washington, D.C., 1988.

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Ground Water. Columbus, OH.

Redlich, Swan. Summary of Municipal Actions for Groundwater Protection in the New England/New York

Region. New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, Boston, MA, 1988.

Southern Arizona Water Resources Association. “Water Warnings: Our Drinking Water. . . . It Takes

Everyone to Keep It Clean.” Tucson, AZ.

Sponenberg, Torsten D. and Jacob H. Kahn. A Groundwater Primer for Virginians. Virginia Polytechnic

Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 1984.

Texas Water Commission. “On Dangerous Ground: The Problem of Abandoned Wells in Texas.”

Austin, TX, 1989.

Texas Water Commission. The Underground Subject: An Introduction to Ground Water Issues in Texas.

Austin, TX, 1989. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Seminar Publication: Protection of Public Water Supplies from

Ground-Water Contaminants. Center for Environmental Research Information, Cincinnati, OH, 1985.

Waller, Roger M. Ground Water and the Rural Homeowner. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, 1988.

24
APPENDIX

NEW INFORMATION FOR THE 1999 REPRINTED EDITION

Appendices 1 and 2 are not included in this edition since they are

outdated. The following information replaces them:

New Drinking Water Protection Information for Communities

As a result of new requirements in the 1996 amendments to the Safe

Drinking Water Act, states are now implementing Source Water

Assessment Programs, which build on existing wellhead protection

programs. In these assessments, states will identify the most

significant potential sources of contamination for each public water

system - whether served by ground water or surface water. These

assessments, which should be completed for all public water systems

in each state by 2003 and made available to the public, will provide

valuable information for communities on priority drinking water

protection needs.

Contacts for more information

For additional information about the source water assessment and

ground water protection programs in your state, contact the agency in

your state that manages the environmental and/or the public health

protection programs. These contacts and links to specific states and

EPA regions can be found on the EPA’s web page at

www.epa.gov/safewater/protect.html or by calling the Safe Drinking

Water Hotline at l-800-426-4791.

For local information on ground water protection efforts in your

community, contact your local environmental or public health office.

Contact information can be found by looking in the government

section of your telephone directory. If your drinking water comes

from a water company or local government, contact them for

information as well. Contact information can be found on your

water bill or in the telephone directory.

27
APPENDIX 1. POTENTIALLY HARMFUL COMPONENTS OF

COMMON HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

Product

Antifreeze (gasoline or coolant systems)

Automatic transmission fluid

Battery acid (electrolyte)

Degreasers for driveways and garages

Degreasers for engines and metal

Engine and radiator flushes

Hydraulic fluid (brake fluid)

Motor oils and waste oils

Gasoline and jet fuel

Diesel fuel, kerosene, #2 heating oil

Grease, lubes

Rustproofers

Car wash detergents

Car waxes and polishes

Asphalt and roofing tar

Paints, varnishes, stains, dyes

Paint and lacquer thinner

Paint and varnish removers, deglossers

Paint brush cleaners

Floor and furniture strippers

Metal polishes

Laundry soil and stain removers

Spot removers and dry cleaning fluid

other solvents

Rock salt (Halite)

Refrigerants

Bug and tar removers

Household cleansers, oven cleaners

Draincleaners 

Toilet cleaners

Cesspool cleaners

Disinfectants

Pesticides (all types)

Photochemicals

Printing ink

Wood preservatives (creasote)

Swimming pool chlorine

Lye or caustic soda

Jewelry cleaners

Toxic or Hazardous Components

methanol ethylene glycol

petroleum distillates, xylene

sulfuric acid

petroleum solvents, alcohols, glycol ether

chlorinated hydrocarbons, toluene, phenols,

dichloroperchloroethylene

petroleum solvents, ketones, butanol, glycol ether

hydrocarbons, fluorocarbons

hydrocarbons

hydrocarbons

hydrocarbons

hydrocarbons

phenols, heavy metals

alkyl benzene sulfonates

petroleum distillates, hydrocarbons

hydrocarbons

heavy metals, toluene

acetone, benzene, toluene, butyl, acetate,

methyl ketones

methylene chloride, toluene, acetone, xylene,

ethanol benzene, methanol

hydrocarbons, toluene, acetone, methanol,

glycol ethers, methyl ethyl ketones

xylene

petroleum distillates, isopropanol, petroleum naptha

petroleum distillates, tetrachloroethylene

hydrocarbons, benzene, trichloroethylene,

1,1,l trichloroethane

acetone, benzene

sodium concentration

1,1,2 trichloro - 1,2,2 triflourothane

xylene, petroleum distillates

xylenols, glycol ethers, isopropanol

1,1,l trichloroethane

xylene, sulfonates, chlorinated phenols

tetrachloroethylene, dichlorohenzene,

methylene chloride

cresol, xylenols

napthalene, phosphorus, xylene, chloroform,

heavy metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons

phenols, sodium sulfite, cyanine, silver halide,

potassium bromide

heavy metals, phenol-formaldehyde

pentachlorophenols

sodium hypochlorite

sodium hydroxide

sodiumcyanide

Reprinted from “Natural Resources Facts: Household Hazardous Wastes,” Fact Sheet No. 88-3,

Department of Natural Science, University of Rhode Island, August 1988.

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