Source Water Protection Planning
Public water systems and source water protection partners can use source water assessment results to inform development of an action plan and implementation of measures to protect and/or enhance source water, such as public education, watershed conservation, application of best management practices, or land use restrictions. An action plan identifies activities or projects needed to mitigate existing and future threats to source water quality and to improve the resilience of the water supply. It provides a roadmap for coordinating partner actions and may help leverage government and private investment.
A plan should:
- Characterize the source water protection area and inventory potential sources of contamination,
- Define priorities,
- Identify protection strategies and partners,
- Define implementation tasks and milestones,
- Highlight resource needs (e.g., funding, expertise, staff),
- Set a timetable for achieving the program goals, and
- Outline a process for periodically evaluating progress towards these goals.