Source water protection

The process is applicable to lakes, rivers and groundwater (aquifers).

[1] Source water protection is part of a multi-barrier approach to protecting municipal sources of drinking water that was recommended by the Canadian Justice Dennis O'Connor in his Walkerton reports.

The Safe Drinking Water Act requires each state to delineate the boundaries of areas that public water systems use for their sources of drinking water—both surface and underground sources.

[3] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages states and local water utilities to conduct source water assessments and take steps to protect the sources.

Technical and financial assistance is also available through the agency's Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center.