Page 25 - NCRWA Tarheel Pipeline Spring 2013
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Spring 2013 |
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23
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BY KEITH STARNER, NCRWA
he North Carolina Source Water Collaborative
recently celebrated its first birthday!
The collaborative is a statewide partnership
founded in 2011 for the purpose of protecting
drinking water. Participants include non-profit
organizations, university programs, local,
state, and federal agencies, and professional
associations. The group’s charter has nineteen
signatories, and the North Carolina Rural
Water Association counts itself as one of the
founding members. The charter is signed by
Directors, Executive Directors, or Presidents
of participating organizations.
During the past year, the Source Water
Collaborative has developed mission and vision
statements, and has its own web page, which
is linked on Public Water Supply Section’s
home page (
/
Collaborative.html). The Collaborative will
recognize outstanding source water protection
achievements, use educational materials and
outreach programs to promote safe drinking
water, seek funding alignment for source
water protection, and provide input in the
development of mandated regulations such as
storm water and nutrients. The organization’s
Mission is to protect North Carolina’s drinking
water resources to provide safe, sustainable
water for the future.
The Collaborative also wants to assist with
the promotion of source water protection plans,
which help protect surface water intakes from
potential sources of contamination. Public
education efforts are typically used in these
plans to instruct businesses and facilities in
management practices that can reduce the
chance for spills or leaks that contribute to
water pollution. This not only saves business
owners money due to lost product, but also
protects community drinking water sources.
There are also financial incentives for having
a state-approved Source Water Protection plan.
Low-interest infrastructure loans are available
through the Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund (SRF) and the Clean Water SRF. Both
funds offer priority preference points for having
a state-approved Source Water Protection Plan.
During competitive years, these additional
points can make a difference in obtaining a
loan. The Clean Water Management Trust
Fund may also have funding available for
North Carolina local government units and
non-profit corporations whose primary purpose
is conservation, preservation, and restoration
of North Carolina’s environmental and natural
resources; and state agencies to assist in the
development of Source Water Protection Plans.
North Carolina currently has four state-
approved source water protection plans for
various river sub-basins across the state.
NC Rural Water has been instrumental in
facilitating the development of all these plans,
which help protect more than 236,000 persons
and six surface water intakes. NC Rural
Water also helps water systems with public
water supply wells to develop groundwater
protection plans to prevent spills or leaks from
contaminating drinking water aquifers. There
are currently 125 state-approved wellhead
protection plans in North Carolina that protect
more than 822,000 people and 793 public water
supply wells. NC Rural Water has assisted
municipalities and water system in the intricate
process of developing the vast majority of the
approved wellhead plans.
Currently, the Collaborative has active teams
to develop educational outreach materials, and
awards to recognize excellence in drinking
water protection. The Collaborative meets
quarterly at the Dempsey E. Benton Water
Treatment Plant in Garner. If you are interested
in attending meetings, or want to find out more
about drinking water protection, contact Amy
Axon with the Public Water Supply Section’s
Source Water Protection Program at (919) 707-
9062. If your water system uses groundwater
and needs a wellhead protection plan to protect
its aquifer, please call Keith Starner, with NC
Rural Water, at (919) 812-2008.
Drinking Water
Collaborative
Turns One
