Operational Resilience – EPA Resources and Guidance on Source Water Protection

Protecting source water is a critical task for water utilities, and preventing contamination helps reduce treatment costs and may avoid or defer the need for complex treatment. To help utilities with that, EPA has created several resources on source water protection. Members are encouraged to review these resources to help them enhance their operational resilience.

EPA’s Source Water Protection (SWP) program includes basic considerations for source water protection concerning both water quality and water availability. Also available through the SWP program is the Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters (DWMAPS), an online mapping tool for source water assessment and planning. Utilities can use this tool to locate potential sources of contamination to their drinking water source and gather data to support source water assessments and inform development of source water protection and emergency response plans. 

On preparing for emergencies, EPA underscores that emergency preparedness and response planning are an indispensable part of any drinking water protection program. It is important for water systems to develop and practice emergency response procedures that address its unique risk profile, as assessed through an all-hazards risk assessment. This will enable utility staff to take action to reduce the consequences of an incident and restore service to customers. Finally, the SWP program offers information on funding opportunities for utilities. Read more about Source Water Protection at EPA.