Protecting Local

Ground-WaterSupplies ThroughWellhead ProtectionUnited States Office of Water EPA 570/9-91-007Environmental Protection (WH-550) May 1991Agency

PROTECTING LOCAL GROUND-WATER SUPPLIES

THROUGH WELLHEAD PROTECTION

OFFICE OF WATER

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

May 1991

d Water Protection

h

Division

A, Region 5

Jackson Blvd.

o, IL 60604

86-1490

d Water/UIC Section

SG)

Quality Protection

n

A, Region 6

oss Avenue

 TX 75202-2733

65-7165

ng Water/Ground

Management Branch

Wetlands and Pesticiden

A, Region 7

nnesota Avenue

 City, KS 66101

51-7032

Ground Water BranchWater Management DivisionUS EPA, Region 8999 18th StreetDenver, CO 80202-2405(303) 293-1703Ground Water ProtectionSectionWater Management DivisionUS EPA, Region 975 Hawthorne StreetSan Francisco, CA 94105(415) 744-1831Ground Water Protection UnitOffice of WaterUS EPA, Region 101200 Sixth AvenueSeattle, WA 98101(206) 553-2857Office of Ground Water andDrinking WaterUS EPA Headquarters401 M Street, SWWashington, DC 20460(202) 382-7077

 Ground-Water Offices
ted on Recycled Paper

WLEDGMENTS

epared for the Environmental

fice of Ground Water and Drink

n served as Project Manager for

sistance from Janette Hansen,

rbert Dee.

OVERCOMING OBSTACLESThe greatest obstacle that most smallcommunities face in trying to implementa wellhead protection program isinsufficient funds. Using a littlecreativity, it is possible to stretch theresources you do have and make aprotection program work in yourcommunity. Using volunteerswhenever possible can help controloverall program costs. It may also beworthwhile to cosponsor a programwith another organization interested inmaintaining a clean water supply (e.g.,local water supplier, environmentalinterest group, League of WomenVoters, local industry and farmers) andwilling to share the cost of the program.

Financing Wellhead Protection

The Town of Bourne, Massachusetts andCollier County, Florida have generated fundsthough taxation for the purpose of groundwater protection. Another approach is thecreation of a special “land bank” that isfinanced form real estate transactions.Nantucket, Massachusetts has used fundsgenerated by a land bank to purchase landswithin wellhead protection areas.

PULLING TOGETHER YOUR PROGRAMNow that you have had a chance to review the five step approach to groundwater protection, it is time to evaluate how this process can work for you. Theapproach provided here, along with other information available from EPA andyour county and state offices, is meant to serve as a general guide to developinga ground-water protection program that will best serve the unique needs of yourcommunity. Talk with the people in your town. Find out who is interested inwellhead protection and get them involved. Contact local, state, and EPAofficials for assistance; they would rather help you protect what you now have,than try to help you clean it up or replace it later.

17
INTRODUCTION

If you are the mayor or water supplymanager or other official of a smalltown, county, or parish, or aninterested citizen, and if your community relies on ground water for itspublic water supply, this booklet canhelp you prevent that ground-watersupply from becoming contaminated.Protecting your ground-water supplybefore it becomes contaminated, instead of waiting until contaminationoccurs is both smart and cost effective.Communities all over the country havelearned that it can be very expensive toclean up ground water once contaminated. They learned the hard way thata little bit of prevention would havebeen worth many pounds of cure.This guide outlines an easy to follow,five-step process that your communitycan take to protect your public watersupply wells.In addition, this guide presents anapproach to protecting your groundwater supply that can be coordinatedwith existing state and federal groundwater supply protection programs suchas EPA’s Wellhead Protection, Underground Injection Control (UIC) andPublic Water Supply System programs. Check with your state

PROTECTING YOUR LOCAL GROUND-WATER

SUPPLIES THROUGH WELLHEAD PROTECTION

1

o take

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Contingency Plans

Souix Falls, South Dakota is served by asingle well field that is located adjacent toindustrial businesses, including the municipalairport and a petroleum storage facility.Several spills and tank leaks have occurred inthe past prompting the city to developemergency response procedures and acontingency plan to react to spills and leaks.

re
y and

rmine

on is

TING YOUR PUBLIC WATER

Form a Team

Define Land Area

Identify Sources

Manage Land Area

Plan For Future

upply

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eam;

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Non-Regulatory ControlsNon-regulatory controls are those thatdo not involve the regulation of anindividual’s property and, whencombined with an appropriateregulatory program, allow for thestrongest possible management of yourground-water resource. Some nonregulatory approaches to considerinclude:• Conduct education programs and

workshops to inform your fellowcity and town residents about theimportance of protecting thecommunity’s ground-water;

• Prepare brochures or pamphlets on

the importance of disposing ofpesticides, used oil, and othercontaminants properly;

• Monitor your community’s water

quality, especially between existingwater quality threats and your publicwells;

• Acquire land within your WHPAs,

either by purchase or by suchtechniques as easements,conservation restrictions, or “bargainsales.”

Finally, regardless of what steps aretaken, remember to stay focused on thegoal: the protection of yourcommunity’s drinking water supply.

Public Education Programs

Accomack and Northampton Counties, Virginiahave developed comprehensive public educationprograms on ground-water protection forcounty residents. These programs range fromdistribution of brochures regarding groundwater protection to establishing forums on therole of county residents in protecting WHPAsfrom contamination.

Ground-Water Monitoring

After a neighboring community lost half itswater supply due to industrial contamination ofthe ground-water, Littleton, Massachusetts’Water Department developed a ground-waterprotection strategy that included the placementof monitoring wells in strategic locations aroundindustries and other potential pollution sourcesin town. The passage of a hazardous materialsbylaw requires industries to install ground-watermonitoring wells and pay for the inspection andsampling conducted by the town.

15
Consider including representatives

from the following groups on yourplanning team: water suppliers; electedofficials; local government agenciessuch as health, planning, and nationalresources; businesses; land developers; community service organizationssuch as the League of Women Voters,Rotary Club, Lions Club; environmental groups; farmers; local fire department; and interested citizens.Perhaps most important is the selectionof a leader who can keep the planningteam organized and on track. A localofficial or community leader who hasalready gained community supportmay be helpful in pushing managementoptions through the proper channels.Your team will also benefit tremendously from the advice of ahydrogeologist, engineer, and landplanner who may teach others in thegroup or act as the group’s technicaladvisor. The local extension office,soil conservation service, or stateground-water agency may be able tolend you support in this area.Once you have formed the planningteam, the next order of business will beto define a clear goal and objectives.The goal will remind the planning teamof what it’s trying to do, while clearlydefined objectives will give the teambenchmarks for measuring progress.

3

water

supplier elected

officials

rotary

club

interested

citizens

farmers

could

icts to

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and

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boring

ure to

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rough

ection

istent

WHPA

fforts.

Health Regulations

Provincetown, Massachusetts’ 1.2 million gallonper-day wellfield was closed due to adjacentground-water contamination from an undergroundstorage tank. After over $6 million in state andlocal funds were used to study, design and installa treatment system, the town developed anunderground storage tank regulation to preventsimilar occurrences from happening in thefuture.

Regional Approach

When ground-water contamination problemsbecame evident in the Hunt River Aquiferlocated in eastern Rhode Island, officials fromthe three communities sharing the aquiferjoined forces to ensure that the ground-water beprotected from further contamination. Thecombined efforts ensure consistent protectionof the resource, including controls over septicsystems, and proper handling, storage, anddisposal of toxic hazardous waste.
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Identifying and Managing Contaminant Sources of Concern

Once the wellhead protection areas are mapped, community planners can locate the contaminant sources ofconcern on the map. As a general rule, planners need to local only sources within the WHPA. Havingidentified the important contaminant sources, the planning team can then use a variety of approaches tomanage these sources, as illustrated in this example

Legend:Public Water Supply WellWellhead Protection Area

RAILROAD; Possible Contaminant Sources Include:

Herbicides and accidental hazardous substances spills

Management Options Include:

a. Railroad company agrees to reduce pesticides within the WHPAb. Slow train speeds to prevent derailment withinthe WHPA

BALD HILLFARM; Possible Contaminant Sources Include:

Pesticides, nitrogen runoff from feedlots

Management Options Include:

a. Reduce use of pesticides within the WHPAb. Adoption of regulations governing feedlots and manure disposal

BALD HILL SERVICE STATION; Possible Contaminant Sources Include:

Leaking underground fuel tanks, oil and fuel spills

Management Options Include:

a. Groundwater monitoring to detect leaks and spillsb. Removal of old underground storage tanks

123

13
Finding a Base Map for Your Wellhead Protection Area

USGS topographic maps are easy to obtain and can be used as base mapsfor wellhead area protection programs. Other maps that can be usedinclude county or city road maps, water resource maps produced byregional water authorities or the USGS, and USDA soil maps.

Topographic

Quadrangle

(USGS)

Local Road

Map

Hydrologic

Investigations

Atlas

(USGS)

Soil Survey

Map

(USDA)

END MAPS

5

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Zoning

Clark County, Virginia adopted a zoning overlaydistrict to prevent development incompatiblewith ground-water protection. Activities that areprohibited in the district include mining,landfills, underground storage tanks, and landapplication of sewage sludge. A minimum oftwo acres of land is required for the constructionof residential dwellings.
Conducting a Search

After your team has completed aninitial review of potential contaminantsources, it is important to search forspecific activities that presentcontamination risks. This does nothave to be an expensive effortinvolving consultants. Localvolunteers, particularly senior citizens,have proven very effective inidentifying potential contaminant risks.Groups such as boy or girl scouts, 4-H,and volunteer fire departments alsogenerally are willing to participate inlocal public service projects.Perhaps the easiest way to conduct thefield search is to make copies of yourwellhead protection area map, dividethe project area into sections and havevolunteers mark on the map thecontaminant sources they find withintheir sections.The information collected shouldinclude a description of the activity, itslocation, the volume of material storedand handled, and any permit references.The final product should be a masterwellhead protection area map. Thismap will identify all of the contaminantsources of concern within the protectionarea and present some indication of thenature and potential threats posed bythese sources.Once the existing sources have beenidentified and assessed, the next step isto determine if any of these threatscould be sited within the wellheadprotection area in the future. A close

Conducting the Search for Possible

Contaminants

The Texas Water Commission (TWC) organizeda volunteer ground of senior citizens to helpconduct inventories of possible contaminantsources in El Paso, Texas. Using checklists,maps, and materials supplied by the TWC, thevolunteers identified and collected informationon numerous potential ground-watercontamination sources.Using a similar approach, Cuba, Missouriresidents successfully conducted a door-todoor survey and located 465 possible sources ofground-water contamination.

11

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Mapping Wellhead Protection Areas

The Brookings County, South DakotaPlanning Commission and the Board ofCounty Commissioners mapped wellheadprotection areas identifying the groundwater area that directly contributes to theCounty’s public supply wells. Oncemapped, the County developed a protectionprogram designed to manage land uses inthe mapped WHPAs.
OURCES OF GROUND-WATER

TAMINATION

Contaminant Source

area Irrigation sites

ts Manure spreading areas/pits

ge/use Pesticide storage/use

Jewelry/metal plating

ops Laundromats

Medical institutions

reas Paint shops

Photography establishments

Railroad tracks and yards

Research laboratories

Scrap and junkyards

Storage tanks

Petroleum production/storage

ufacture/storage Pipelines

nufacture Septage lagoons and sludges

Storage tanks

tal fabricators Toxic and hazardous spills

workiing shops Wells (operating/abandoned)

ne drainage Wood preserving facilities

Septic systems/cesspools

ping/refinishing Sewer lines

ardous products Swimming pools (chemicals)

wns

ste landfills Recycling/reduction facilities

nerators Road deicing operations

dfills Road maintenance depots

er lines Storm water drains/basins

sites Transfer stations

Mapping Your Wellhead Protection Area

Small communities can use a variety of techniques to map their wellhead protection areas, including EPA’ssimplified computer program, as illustrated in this example.

Legend:Public Water Supply WellWellhead Protection Area Using Fixed RadiusWellhead Protection Area Using Simplified Computer Program

7
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 Step 3Once you know what area in yourcommunity needs to be protected, youcan begin to identify and locatepotential threats to the quality of yourground-water supply. Any pollutantsthat are released within your WHPAhave the potential to reach your welland contaminate the water. Forexample, less than one gallon ofgasoline can contaminate one milliongallons of ground water to the pointthat the well water is unusable fordrinking purposes.It can be helpful to divide your WHPAinto smaller areas based on how theland is used (e.g., residential,commercial, agricultural, etc.) Becausedifferent types of contaminants can beexpected from different types of landuses. Table 1 shows some examples ofpotential contaminant sources indifferent land-use categories.Sources of information on existingland uses and potential contaminationproblems include the local phone book,Chamber of Commerce’s membershiprosters, information maintained byyour police and/or fire department andFederal, state, or county agency files.For example, the local agriculturalextension agent may have records onchemical and manure storage andapplication areas in agriculturallocations.

Identify and LocatePotentialContaminants

9