Five Steps to successful Wellhead Protection ~

1. Form a Community Planning Team

2. Delineate the area in the watershed to be protected

3. Identify actual and potential sources of contamination

4. Manage the Wellhead Protection Area

5. Plan for the future

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1. Form a Community Planning Team

• Initiate and implement the Wellhead Protection Program

• Evaluate community's existing and future watershed management needs

• Establish short & long term goals

• Inform the community about the Wellhead Protection planning efforts

• Develop land management strategies to insure protection of the water supply

2. Define the land area to be protected

• Conduct research to define the wellhead protection area. This may include watershed mapping, hydrogeologic investigation, contaminant transport research, and water system evaluation.

• Delineate the Wellhead Protection Area (WHPA) using computer models, a calculated fixed radius, or an arbitrary fixed 1000-foot radius.

3. Identify actual and potential sources of contamination

• Septic Tanks, Cesspools, Hazardous Waste Sites, Mining Activities, Industrial Areas, Leaking Underground Storage Tanks, Improperly abandoned wells, Oil Refineries, Landfills, Pesticides & Fertilizers, Household Waste, Animal and Human Waste.

4. Manage the Wellhead Protection Area

• Land Use Management

Watershed Protection activities, Best Management Practices (BMPs), acquire land around the WHPA, Zoning Ordinances to limit land use, Conservation Easements

• Public Education

Increase awareness and public participation, community meetings, road signs, brochures included with water bills, newspaper articles, school-based environmental education, Consumer Confidence Reports

5. Plan for the Future

• Develop a contingency plan for alternate water supplies

• Identify future problems and develop solutions

• Install backup water supplies in case of emergency

• Identify location of future wells

• Consider regional watershed planning

• Implement water conservation measures