According to the American Water Works Association (AWWA), which represents water supply professionals around the country, source water protection "should be pursued diligently for every water supply source. Water suppliers, regulators, and local landowners and municipalities share responsibility for accomplishing source water protection."

However, protecting sources of our drinking water can, in some cases, take significant effort and expense. On the other hand, when source water becomes contaminated, the remedy or treatment can also be very costly. Communities must consider these potential economic costs and benefits, along with the range of environmental and public health costs and benefits associated with clean, protected sources of drinking water.

The Cost of Contaminated Water

Treating contaminated water to make it usable or cleaning up a contaminated source of water can be costly for communities. For example, it cost the city of Pittsfield, Maine $1.5 million to replace a water supply when landfill leachate contaminated their groundwater supply. The city of Tallahassee, Florida spent $2.5 million and will spend $10,000 each year to enhance their water treatment because of tetrachloroethylene contamination in their ground water supply. The water authority of Camden-Rockland, Maine expects to spend $6 million for advanced water treatment because of excess phosphorus in its water source, Lake Chickawaukie.

Cost Savings from Protecting Drinking Water Sources

There are a number of ways that effective source water protection programs can potentially save money. They can:

• reduce the costs of complying with Safe Drinking Water Act regulations
• reduce the need for disinfection and filtration
• reduce the need for monitoring
• help maintain real estate values (and thus the tax base).

For example, according to the National Center for Small Communities, waivers from monitoring requirements have already saved Massachusetts water systems approximately $22 million over 3-years and saved Texas water systems $49 million over two and one-half years.

But Who Should Pay To Protect Drinking Water Sources?

One frequent stumbling block to implementing effective source water protection programs is determining who should pay for the efforts. Recognizing that potential barrier, the AWWA suggests the following guidelines:

• Sources of pollution should bear the responsibility for remediation; in other words, the polluter pays.
• The source water protection process should have open and active communication and should be flexible in order to help overcome actual and perceived imbalances of equity.
• Federal, state, and local resources can be applied to help address equity issues.
• Consideration should be given to the value that source water protection programs can provide to a community through environmental benefits -- such as wildlife habitat and open space -- as well as improved quality and quantity of available water.
• Appropriate compensation for lost or diminished use of property because of source water protection restrictions may be considered in some cases.

Funding for source water protection can come from federal, state, and local governments, private organizations, or levies on polluters or pollutants e.g., (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc.), with the proceeds supporting cleanup efforts. In addition, volunteers can also help with assessment, monitoring, or other efforts.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, states may use a certain portion of funds from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for source water protection efforts, including loans for the purchase of land for conservation easements. Delaware is planning to use Drinking Water State Revolving Funds to set up two low-interest source water protection loan funds. One fund will provide loans for voluntary, incentive-based community source water protection measures such as agricultural resources management to minimize contaminated runoff. The second will provide loans to acquire land or easements to protect drinking water sources.

There are a number of other potential sources of federal funding for source water protection programs:

• Small towns and rural communities can also get funding through the Water and Waste Disposal Grant and Loan Program administered by the Rural Utilities Service within the Department of Agriculture.
• Assistance with encouraging agricultural best management practices to minimize or eliminate contamination from pesticides, nutrients and animal feeding operations is available through the Department of Agriculture's Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
• Assistance with protecting drinking water sources in urban areas may be available through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant Program.
• Assistance may also be available through the Economic Development Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Indian Health Service.