This article discusses some of the ways to protect sources of drinking water and how you can get involved.

There are two types of programs to protect our ground water; wellhead protection and sole source aquifer protection. Wellhead protection deals with potential sources of contamination in the areas around a community water supply well, usually thousands of square feet to a few square miles. Sole source aquifer protection programs involve preventing pollution to an acquifer that supplies a community's drinking water. There are ways to protect our source water:

• Identifying activities that may threaten the quality of ground water supplies
• Identifying areas of contamination.
• Having an emergency plan in place for oil spills, floods, etc.
• Educating business owners on how to keep pollutants out of our water supply.
• Using zoning or health ordinances.

Citizens can play an active role with water suppliers and local and state governments — contact your local water supplier to find out if there is a source water protection program in your community. Citizens can make a difference by voicing opinions and raising awareness about various issues such as:

• How land in the community is used.
• Local regulations for handling and disposal of toxic wastes.
• Local government assistance with household hazardous waste disposal pick-up.

By protecting our source water from contamination, we can reduce the need for treating our drinking water.

For more information: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/protect or EPA Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791

For more information: http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw