SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PROGRAM INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE
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INTRODUCTION
The Wellhead Protection Program was put into effect by the 1986 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. PRWA works with communities to protect the areas surrounding the community wells that supply water to the public drinking water system. Ground water/wellhead protection is the responsibility of all levels of government, but the foremost responsibility for this protection is at the local government level.

It has been proven that ground water is very difficult to clean up after contamination and in many cases is impossible to clean up. Protection of your groundwater source does not guarantee that your groundwater source will never be contaminated, but will definitely reduce the risk associated with contamination. Wellhead protection is less costly and takes less time than trying to clean up after contamination occurs.

PRWA will work with any system interested in protecting their groundwater supply. There is no charge for the PRWA services provided. The Groundwater Technician will need participation from water system personnel and community officials. Without participation a good wellhead protection plan will not be achieved. The first four steps of a groundwater/wellhead protection plan are not difficult and can be completed within a few months.

The system's responsibility to review and upgrade the plan as needed will be an ongoing process. We stress cooperation with industry, business and the agricultural community. If possible, we ask that they be approached to participate in the formulation of the plan.

In the following pages you will also find"Appendix A" from the PA Department of Environmental Protection. These pages outline the minimum elements for a PA DEP approvable Wellhead Protection Plan. The PRWA Technician will assist you in developing a Plan that follows these recommendations. Please, read these pages, as the committee is responsible for all recordkeeping.

Click here for program details

PLAN TEMPLATES
PRWA with assistance from PaDEP has developed a template for source water protection plans for drinking water (ground or surface water). If completed properly, the template is designed to meet all the PA DEP guidelines for approval of a local source water protection plan. Anyone may use and modify this template free of charge, provided that proper credit is given to PRWA in the report and the paragraph entitled "Acknowledgments" remains in all copies, reports and plans. To obtain a copy of this template in Microsoft Word 95 format, click on the link below. If you would like the file in other word processing formats, please e-mail Joel Jordan at jjordan@prwa.com with requests. If you wish to receive technical assistance with the development of a local wellhead or watershed protection plan, please contact Judy Muehl at jmuehl@prwa.com or Joel Jordan at jjordan@prwa.com.

Source Water Template in MSWord 95  
Source water Template in MSWord 2000

WATER SUPPLY SIGN

Download a PDF file of a specification sheet
for the Water Supply Sign.
This is the state approved sign for posting around
wellhead or watershed protection areas.

Download a PDF file of PA DOT contacts
for approval of Water Supply Sign placement.
PA DOT will also provide a list of approved sign makers.

HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
http://pennsylvania.earth911.org

LINKS
PRWA Links to Mapping Tools 
PAWS - Protecting America's Water Supplies - A Community Watch Program of PRWA