The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments require states to develop source water assessment programs (SWAP) for public drinking water systems (PWS) and submit to U.S. EPA for approval. As part of a SWAP, states are required to 1) delineate the boundaries of the areas providing source waters to the PWS (groundwater and surface water) and, 2) identify, to the extent practicable, the origins of regulated and certain unregulated contaminants in the delineated area to determine the vulnerability of the PWS to those contaminants. 

Goals of the Drinking Water Source Assessment and Protection Program: 

• Encourage a proactive approach to protecting drinking water sources. Water suppliers, communities, planners and the public at large will be encouraged to actively manage and plan activities around sources and their delineated contribution areas to reduce or eliminate the threat of contamination.
• Refine/focus/target the monitoring requirements for drinking water sources. State and federal regulations require water suppliers to monitor for a long list of inorganic and organic chemicals. With proper identification of contaminated sources, monitoring requirements can be targeted to the needs of the source. The result is enhanced health protection with a potential saving in monitoring costs.
• Meet federal requirements of establishing Wellhead Protection and Source Water Assessment Programs.

There are about 15,000 active groundwater sources in California that serve as drinking water sources and will be included in the SWAP. 

U.S. EPA requires the programs to include at least the following: 

• Delineation of areas that contribute water to the wells
• Inventory of source contaminants within the protection areas
• Assessment to determine susceptibility to contamination
• Protection elements at state and local level (regulatory and non-regulatory)
• Contingency planning for alternative water supplies
• Siting criteria for new wells
• Public participation in developing the SWAP
• Implementation activities

A technical advisory committee has been formed to review and comment on the technical elements of the program. The GRA Executive Director and Chair serve on the committee. 

The Department of Health Service, Drinking Water Program (DHS) is coordinating the effort with support from the State Water Resources Control Board. 

For more information, contact 
Alexis Milea, DHS, 2151 Berkeley Way, Room 461, Berkeley, CA 94707 (510) 540-2177 or Leah Walker, DHS, 50 D Street, Suite 200, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 (707) 576-2295