Each time you get a drink or take a shower, do you think of where that water came from to begin with? Many people, including you and I, take the unlimited supply of water that comes from the tap at home for granted. In reality though, all this water we use and drink comes from very vulnerable natural sources. And taking care of these natural sources of water can be a very hard and complicated task, especially at heavily contaminated sources. The EPA has had a major effect of the regulations and laws about water sources.

Obviously the easiest way to take care of this would be to keep the sources free of contamination before it became polluted at all. To do this, one would have to figure out how pollutants get into the pond, reservoir, groundwater, or other source of water in the first place. Runoff is a major contributor to groundwater becoming contaminated. Runoff is the waste products of manufacturing processes that has seeped in the ground, but it can also come from farms and roads in addition to factories.

A source water protection program would help decrease the contamination of these sources of water, both groundwater and surface water. The concept is the same for both surface water and groundwater- "prevent contamination from traveling through the ground or water and into the drinking water supplies." (What is...) It would also save a lot of money compared to the amount of money it would take to clean up a water source that had been contaminated already. The price of doing that might include installing new pipes and wells, treatment facilities, and locating new sources of water, each of which would be either very expensive or even prove to be impossible. A source water protection program can also save money on monitoring the water of cyanide. According to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996, testing water is voluntary at the federal level, but several states require it. (Trax, 1) This is called a Source Water Assessment Program. It is an inventory of contaminants and assessment of water system susceptibility to contamination, all of which must be informed to the public. Source water protection, though, could lower the frequency of these tests to once every three years. A Source Water Assessment Program is also a requirement to have a Source Water Protection program put in place.

I agree with the EPA's point of view on this subject, there are so many benefits from these amendments and laws compared to little or no bad things resulting from it. And the water has to be cleaned somehow, and this is obviously the best choice.

Sources Cited

Trax, John. "Source Water Protection For Small Systems," American Water Works Association. Journal Aug 1999:

"What is Source Water Protection? (SWP)". EPA Website 1-1999: 4 pp.

On-line. Internet. 22 Nov. 1999.

Bibliography

Anonymous. "9 Ways You Can Fight Runoff Pollution." Journal of National Wildlife Quality Oct/Nov-1999: 3 pp. On-line. Internet. 03 Nov. 1999.

Arnold, Steven Dq. "Dairy feedlot contributions to groundwater contamination." Journal of Environmental Health Times 9-1999: 4 pp. On-line. Internet. 15 Oct. 1999.

Available: proquest

Damgaard, Margie. "Wellhead Protection and Source Water Protection Information." On-Line. Internet. 27 Apr 1999: Availible http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/dwg/gw/whp.htm 12 Dec 1999

"Surface Runoff" 1pp. On-Line. Internet. 4 Jun. 1999. Availible

http://soils.ecn.purdue.edu/~wepphtml/wepp/wepptut/jhtml/runoff.html 12 Dec 1999.

Mason, Charles F. "Deconstruction of the chemical effects of road salt on stream water chemistry." Journal of Environmental Quality, Jan/Feb - 1999: 1 pp (Abstract).

On-line. Internet. 23 Nov. 1999.

Pontius, Fredrick W. "Overview of SDWA source water protection programs." American Water Works Association. Journal, Denver; Nov 1997; pg. 22, 3 pgs. 12 Dec 1999.