Protecting the Source of Drinking Water
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The document discusses various water source protection strategies implemented by different regions to ensure access to safe drinking water. It highlights methods such as precautionary policies in Korea, constitutional protection in Vienna, and partnerships in New York City and Philadelphia, which focus on both regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to protect water supplies. Overall, these initiatives aim to prevent contamination and promote sustainable management of water resources.
Protecting the Source of Drinking Water
- 2. EXPRESS WATER April, 2018 41 COLUMN URBAN WATER ProtectingtheSource IN MANY LOCATIONS around the world, ensuring access to good quality water can be a challenge due to eco- nomic as well as domestic activities impacting the quali- ty of surface and groundwater supplies. To avoid having to develop new water supplies due to contamination a number of jurisdictions are turning to water source protection meth- ods which involve the protec- tion of surface water sources and the protection of ground- water sources from contami- nation of any kind. Korea’s PrecautionaryAp- proach Korea’s Ministry of Environment (MOE) has established water manage- ment measures for four major rivers in the country. Through special measures and laws, MOE has introduced strong precautionary policies that focus on total pollution load management, water charges for downstream uses, designa- tion of riparian buffer zones, and land purchase of water source areas. Specifically: MOE allows local administra- tors to determine appropriate total pollution load manage- ment systems; water use charges for downstream users are used to make up for losses incurred by upstream resi- dents due to land use regula- tions as well as to facilitate the construction of basic environ- mental facilities; riparian buffer zones are used to restrict the construction of restaurants, lodging facilities, bathhouses, factories, and livestock sheds; and under the land purchase system, if a per- son wishes to sell land and buildings in water source pro- tection areas, riparian buffer zones, or areas vulnerable to water quality deterioration, the buyer is required to con- sult in advance with the Watershed Management Committee before purchase to reduce potential for future tensions over permitted activ- ities. Vienna Constitutionally Protecting itsWater Vienna is the first city in the world to constitutionally protect its drinking water. The Vienna Water Charter ensures the city does not expose water to hazards that impact water quality. Vienna’s drinking water comes from water springs in the Rax, Schneeberg and Schneealpe mountains and from the Hochschwab mountain mas- sif. To protect the springs the Forestry Office of the City of Vienna maintains source pro- tection forests to ensure the soil remains healthy and able to filter and store rainwater efficiently. In addition, the city works with farmers in the source areas to avoid negative influences on the water sources. Massachusetts’Source Protection Grant In Massachusetts, the state offers a Drinking Water Supply Protection (DWSP) Grant to public water systems and municipal water depart- ments for the purchase of land or interests in land for the protection of existing public drinking water supplies; pro- tection of planned future pub- lic drinking water supplies; and groundwater recharge. Under the DWSP Grant appli- cants can receive up to $350,000 in funding to imple- ment plans to protect existing or new wells, as well as sur- face drinking water supply systems including reservoirs. The funds can even be used to purchase watershed land located in Department of Environmental Protection- approved drinking water sup- ply land to ensure the health and well-being of Massachusetts’ residents. NewYork CityWorking in Partnership New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for oper- ating, maintaining, and pro- tecting the city’s water supply and distribution system. To protect the source of drinking water for nine million water consumers, DEP funds and implements a comprehensive Long-Term Watershed Protection Program. A key aspect of the programme is that it includes working in partnership with many diverse stakeholder groups and local organizations. Since 1992, the Watershed Agricultural Program has promoted a non-regulatory, voluntary, incentive-based and farmer-led approach to controlling agricultural sources of pollution while sup- porting the economic viability of the watershed’s agricultural economy. Working through the Watershed Agricultural Council, the city funds devel- opment of farm pollution pre- vention plans and implemen- tation of structural and non- structural best management practices. To date, nearly 200 large farm operations have signed up with the pro- gramme and over 7,000 best management practices have been implemented. In addi- tion, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program pays farmers to take sensitive riparian buffer lands out of active farm use and re- establish vegetative buffers. This has led to the develop- ment of nearly 2,000 acres of riparian buffers and around 9,000 head of livestock being excluded from streams. Philadelphia’sWatershed Approach Philadelphia Water Department’s (PWD) Source Water Protection Program takes a watershed-wide approach to protecting the quality of the city’s drinking water sources with PWD working with upstream com- munities and organisations on a variety of initiatives includ- ing: working with regional land trusts and conservancies to ensure forested lands are permanently protected for drinking water supply protec- tion; lobbying for policies that preserve forests and empha- sise water resource protec- tion; collaborating with the State of Pennsylvania to ensure regulations are enforced for wastewater treatment plants that dis- charge upstream of Philadelphia; and working with State and local stake- holders to rehabilitate the Fairmount Dam Fishway Facility, which is the largest fish passage structure in the Schuylkill River watershed and is critical to ensuring the healthy fish passage on the Schuylkill River and its tribu- taries. Overall, water source pro- tection actions can involve a variety of policy regulations and economic incentives to protect water resources from non-point source pollution including the restriction of certain activities near water sources, grants to local author- ities to purchase land in and around existing or new wells, and funding of best manage- ment practices on farmlands. Water source protection can also involve non-regulatory activities such as stakeholder engagement initiatives that bring together communities and organizations across entire watersheds to jointly develop solutions. Robert Brears is the author of Urban Water Security, Founder of Mitidaption, and Our Future Water." @Mitidaption Robert C Brears To avoid having to develop new water supplies due to contamination a number of jurisdictions are turning to water source protection methods which involve the protection of surface water sources and the protection of groundwater sources from contamination of any kind. By Robert C Brears