Explain at Least Three Ways Trees Assist in Keeping High Water Quality. Read More >>
Communities, citizen groups, and individuals can accept an active role in protecting their drinking water sources from contamination. The resources below provide information about source water protection and steps you lot can take at the local level to protect your drinking water.
On this folio:
- Learn About Source Water Protection
- Have Everyday Actions
- Volunteer in Your Community
- Participate in Source H2o Planning at the Community Level
Learn Most Source Water Protection
Learn About Your Drinking Water Source
Your drinking water utility includes information near the drinking h2o source in their annual drinking water quality report, also called a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). A CCR also tells you lot how to get a copy of the source water cess for your drinking h2o source. Find your local CCR online.
Learn more than about source water assessments, or ask your drinking h2o provider if there are whatever source water protection projects or groups you tin support.
Take Everyday Actions
Utilise and Dispose of Harmful Materials Properly
Don't pour hazardous waste downward the drain, on the basis, or into storm sewers. This could contaminate the soil, groundwater, or nearby surface water.
A number of products used at home comprise hazardous or toxic substances that can contaminate ground or surface waters, such as:
- Motor oil
- Pesticides
- Leftover paints or pigment cans
- Mothballs
- Flea collars
- Household cleaners
- A number of medicines
EPA's Household Chancy Waste (HHW) program has more advice on how to safely manage and reduce the use of these materials.
Think Twice about Lawn and Garden Chemicals
Limit the employ of pesticides or fertilizers, and always follow the characterization directions. Many fertilizers and pesticides comprise harmful chemicals which can travel through the soil and contaminate groundwater or run off in stormwater to rivers, streams, and lakes.EPA evaluates pesticides to ensure that when they are used co-ordinate to label directions they will not harm people, non-target species or the environment.
Properly Maintain Your Septic System
Groundwater tin exist contaminated by poorly or untreated household wastewater, which poses dangers to drinking water and to the environment. Malfunctioning septic systems release bacteria, viruses, and chemicals to local aquifers and waterways. The boilerplate household septic arrangement should be inspected at least every three years by a septic service professional. Household septic tanks are typically pumped every iii to v years. Alternative systems with electrical float switches, pumps, or mechanical components should be inspected more than oftentimes, generally once a year.
Detect more information on the SepticSmart Homeowners webpage.
Dispose of Your Medications Properly
In homes that use septic tanks, prescription and over-the-counter drugs flushed downward the toilet can leach into the ground and seep into groundwater. In cities and towns where residences are connected to wastewater handling plants, prescription and over-the-counter drugs poured down the sink or flushed downwardly the toilet can pass through the handling system and enter rivers and lakes. These water sources may flow downstream to community drinking water supplies. Water treatment plants are mostly non equipped to routinely remove medicines.
EPA encourages the public to take reward of pharmaceutical have-dorsum drove programs that accept prescription or over-the-counter drugs, every bit these programs offer a rubber and environmentally-conscious manner to dispose of unwanted medicines.
Learn more nigh rubber ways to collect and dispose of unwanted medicines.
Volunteer in Your Community
Find or Outset a Group
Detect a watershed or wellhead protection organization or a source water collaborative in your community and volunteer to assist. If there are no active groups, consider starting one. Use the Source Water Collaborative's How to Collaborate Toolkit to get started.
Bring together in a Beach, Stream, or Wetland Cleanup
You can make new friends while you assist protect source water.
Gear up a Presentation most Your Watershed for a School or Civic Organization
Hash out water quality threats, including the dangers of polluted runoff and ecosystem loss. In your presentation, highlight deportment people can take to protect water quality, such as limiting fertilizer use and properly maintaining their septic systems.
Organize a Tempest Drain Stenciling Project
Stencil a message adjacent to the street drain. This reminds people not to dump waste into a street drain, which leads to local water sources such as rivers.Use uncomplicated images and words when stenciling to help make the connection, such as:
- Fish
- Streams
- Lakes
- Groundwater
- Bays
- Sea"Protect Your Water" logo with the image of a glass and faucet
Yous can besides apply stencils to produce and distribute flyers to your neighbors. Remind residents that storm drains dump straight into their local h2o source.
Put Upwardly Signs
Mail signs along the border of your source water protection expanse to notify people that whatsoever pollution in that expanse can affect the quality of local drinking water.
Participate in Source H2o Protection at the Community Level
Identify Community Partners
H2o is a shared resource. You tin can work inside your customs, watershed, or neighborhood to protect your drinking h2o.
Many partners are involved in implementing source water protection through watershed management strategies involving:
- Assessing the potential sources of contamination in the protection area;
- Prioritizing efforts to reduce potential of impacts; and
- Implementing direction measures.
Apply Your Assessment to Identify and Prioritize Needed Actions
States have completed the first pace of assessing the protection expanse for all public water systems. Each assessment includes a delineation, a contaminant inventory, and susceptibility determination. You may observe that the cess in your local area is outdated.
Visit the cess page to larn how it tin can be updated.
Work with Your Water Utility
H2o utilities provide the public with information, safety monitoring, and emergency response. They take a critical role to play in promoting source h2o protection, including:
- Advocating for source water protection;
- Providing almanac drinking water quality reports (i.e., consumer confidence reports);
- Creating opportunities for public participation (such as water board meetings and public forums);
- Educating consumers;
- Identifying potential sources of contamination;
- Identifying and organizing other stakeholders; and
- Working directly with owners and managers of potential sources of pollution.
Source: https://www.epa.gov/sourcewaterprotection/how-can-you-help-protect-source-water
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