Potomac Basin Drinking Source Water Protection Partnership

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Potomac BasinDrinking Source WaterProtection
Partnership
January 9, 2009 Cherie Schultz, Ph.D. Interstate
Commission on the Potomac River Basin
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Potomac Drinking Source Water Protection
Partnership

• Voluntary alliance
• Goal is protection of source water
• Identify regional priorities
• Promote communication and information-sharing
• Encourage coordinated approaches
• Develop new initiatives to ensure the highest
  quality drinking water
• Initiated in September, 2004

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Source Water Protection Background

• Safe Drinking Water Act passed in 1974
• Original focus on water treatment and standards
• 1996 amendments required source water assessments
  for all public water supply systems
• Most assessments completed 2004

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Sources of Drinking Water in the Potomac River
Basin
Potomac basin population 5.8 million
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Potomac Source Water - Assets

• 57 forested
• 15 permanently protected
• Little heavy industry
• Chesapeake Bay Program initiatives

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Potomac Source Water - Challenges
Rapid population growth
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Potomac Source Water - Challenges
Agricultural practices
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Potomac Source Water - Challenges
Major transportation corridors
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Genesis of Partnership

• Completion of Potomac source water assessments
• Encouragement by ICPRB and EPA
• History of successful cooperation between DC area
  water suppliers

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Current Membership

• Fairfax Water (VA)
• Washington Aqueduct (DC)
• WSSC (MD)
• Loudoun Water (VA)
• City of Frederick (MD)
• City of Hagerstown (MD)
• City of Rockville (MD)
• Frederick Co DUSWM (MD)
• Town of Leesburg (VA)
• Washington Co (MD)

• DDOE
• MDE
• PADEP
• VADEQ, VDH
• WVDEP, WVDHHR
• EPA
• USGS
• ICPRB

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Partnership Strategy
Develop strategies to protect source water
Determine issues of concern
Identify sources

• Meetings and workshops
• Scientific studies

• Pathogens
• Emerging contaminants
• - Disinfection by-products
• Hazardous spills

• Discussions begun

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Activities Related to Pathogens

• Accomplishments
• Cryptosporidium workshop, Jun 2005
• Cryptosporidium source tracking study, 2006-2008
  (DWSPP/CDC/EPA)
• Workshop on practices of dairy and beef cattle
  industry, Aug 2008
• Visits to agricultural BMPs, Oct 2006 and Dec 2008

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Activities Related to Pathogens

• Under discussion in 2009 - support of BMPs that
  reduce crypto via
• Direct assistance for implementation projects?
• Education and outreach to state county
  agencies?
• Other?

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Activities Related to Emerging Contaminants

• Accomplishments
• Emerging Contaminants Water Supply Workshop,
  Sep 2005
• Mini-Workshop Emerging Contaminant Challenges
  Alternative Approaches for Water
  Utilities/Meeting, May 7, 2007
• Workshop AwwaRF Research on Risk Communication
  EDCs for Potomac Region Stakeholders, Apr 2008
• Participation in EPA monitoring perchlorate
  study
• Upcoming
• Potomac basin serving as case study for upcoming
  AwwaRF project Water Utility Framework for
  Responding to Emerging Contaminant Issues

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Activities Related to Releases of Hazardous
Materials

• Accomplishments
• Periodic DWSPP spill response exercises (with EPA
  RiverSpill simulation model)
• Pipeline safety review (follow-up on 1993 spill
  by Colonial Pipeline Co)
• Potomac Pipeline Spill Training and Simulation
  Exercise, fall 2008

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Goals - Pipeline Spill Training Exercise

• Test water supply-related emergency response and
  communication plans for DC metro area
• Enhance emergency response coordination and
  communication between Colonial Pipeline Co, water
  suppliers, and others
• Define participants roles and responsibilities
• Clarify the Incident Command System (ICS)
  structure for the response, in particular the
  agencies/entities involved in the Unified
  Command
• Allow participants to discuss future steps to
  better prepare for a water supply-related
  emergency

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Participants - Pipeline Spill Training Exercise
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Strategy for Source Water Protection in Potomac
River Basin
Antietam
Monocacy
Opequon
North Fork Shenandoah
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Strategy for Source Water Protection in Potomac
River Basin

• Search for commonly identified threats to source
  water within watersheds
• Identify opportunities to coordinate with Total
  Maximum Daily Load efforts
• Explore opportunities to partner with county
  conservation districts

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Conclusion

• Cooperative alliances cannot
• Reach consensus on all issues
• Serve as a substitute for regulations
• Cooperative alliances can
• Build trust
• Help disseminate information
• Reduce duplication of efforts
• Effectively exert pressure for change

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For more information go to www.potomacdwspp.org
or contact Karin Bencala, kbencala_at_icprb.org
Cherie Schultz, cschultz_at_icprb.org