Source water protection planning is a voluntary phase of the program. Public water systems are encouraged to understand the assessment reports and initiate protection planning within their local communities. The following links will serve as a guide to understanding source water protection.
- Protection planning: The main objective of protection planning is to minimize potential contaminate threats to public drinking water supplies. This is achieved throughout the planning process by identifying and implementing “best management practices” that will protect your specific source water area. To aid in this process we provide technical and financial support to community members and public water systems interested in developing source water protection plans. The Protection Planning Process includes:
- Stakeholder involvement.
- A steering committee to develop and implement the plan.
- An inventory of all ground and surface water intakes.
- Reviewing state source water assessment for potential sources of contamination.
- An inventory of potential sources of contamination and local issues of concern.
- A map of outlining the source water protection area.
- Best management practices that address each of the potential sources of contamination and issues of possible threats to your source water.
- A contingency plan to ensure a safe drinking water supply in the event of an emergency.
- SWAP toolkit: To receive the toolkit, email your contact information, including your mailing address, to: cdphe.wqswap@state.co.us This two-disc set provides protection planning background information and outlines the eight steps to developing a source water protection plan.
- Grants: We have some grant funding available for public water systems. We recommend you review the grant guidance document before contacting Colorado Rural Water Association to apply for a source water protection grant.
- Get the protection planning template
Using this standardized template, a steering committee can guide groups through the source water protection planning process.The template was developed and modified by a public process involving a citizens advisory group. We and our partners offer limited consultation with the steering committee in completing the template. The template represents the minimum elements we expect to see in a protection plan. We will acknowledge source water protection plans that meet the following criteria:
- A public participation and/or stakeholder interest group is established and recognized.
- A water supply setting is identified and all groundwater and/or surface water sources are considered in the plan.
- A water demand/analysis with an associated contingency plan is completed.
- A source water assessment delineation and protection area is identified and recognized.
- A contaminant source inventory is completed and verified in the plan.
- A source water priority strategy and susceptibility analysis is identified and recognized.
- Source water protection measures and best management practices are outlined.
- Integrated Source Water and Protection Project Plan.
For additional information and to get the protection planning process started please visit Colorado Rural Water Association.