United States
                   Environmental Protection
                   Agency
                      Office of Water
                      (4204)
                      Washington, D.C. 20460
EPA 832-F-00-001
 vvEPA
Protecting Drinking Water with the
Clean Water State Revolving Fund
    Safe drinking water is one of the most
    fundamental resources for the protection of
    public health. About 250 million people in
the United States get their drinking water from
a public water system.  The Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996
developed a new tool for the protection of
drinking water—the Source Water Assessment
and Protection Program. Through this
program, state drinking water agencies assess
the threats to each community's drinking
water. Communities and public water systems
can then work together to decide how to best
protect drinking water sources.

Funds are available from the Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to finance a
variety of assessment and protection activities.
States can use DWSRF funds to manage their
source water protection programs and conduct
assessments. States can also provide loans to
water systems to acquire land needed for
protection and implement protection measures.
However, the Clean Water State Revolving
Fund (CWSRF) program authorized by the
Clean Water Act can also be a powerful tool to
help states finance a variety of protection
activities. The CWSRF program can provide
assistance to communities, water systems, and
other organizations (including land
conservation associations), for projects that
protect source water and enhance water
quality.
Diagram*!
Figure 1
                     What Is A Source Water Assessment?

                     Source water is the water from the rivers, streams,
                     lakes and ground water that your system uses to
                     supply your community with drinking water.
                     Each state will perform source water assessments
                     between 2000 and 2003, as required by SDWA.
                     Although each state may take a different
                     approach, assessments generally involve four
                     steps:

                     1.   Identify the source -water protection area.
                         For each ground water well or surface water
                         intake, the land area that contributes water to
                         the drinking water supply is identified and
                         mapped (Figure 1).  Contaminants from land
                         uses and spills within this area could threaten
                         water pulled into the well or intake.

                     2.   Identify contaminant threats to the source
                         water. This inventory identifies land uses or
                         activities in the source water protection area
                         that could potentially contaminate the
                         drinking water supply. (Figure 2) A list of
                         types of facilities and activities, with
                         contaminants they may release, can be found
                         atwivw.epa.gov/safewater/swp/intro4.html.

                     3.   Determine susceptibility of source -water to
                         contamination. Through analysis of
                         contaminant threats in the source water
                         protection area and other factors, a state can
                         determine the susceptibility of the source
                         water to contamination. This determination
                         helps to identify priority protection actions
                         that a community could take to prevent
                         contaminants from reaching source water.

                     4.   Mahs information available to the public.
                         After the state completes the assessments, the
                         information for each water system is
                         summarized and made available to the
                         public. This information is a valuable
                         starting point for local communities to take
                         an active role in protecting source water and
                         preventing contamination of their drinking
                         water.

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Figure 2
  What is Source Water Protection ?

 The protection activities that a community
 pursues will depend on the needs of the
 community. The following is a list of some of
Tthe common protection measures communities
 have used to protect their source water.
iiii    1 1 1    iiii 11IIII  i        M   i i   i i     i
III i    H i   in n n 1 1 i II n 1 1  M    iiii   n
  >•   Managing Contaminants - Projects can
„ ;:S!|li ...... ,. |educs ..... the ..... threat , of contamination through
     cleanup or remediation of pollution.
     Development of management plans can
     control non-point and point sources of
     pollution that threaten source water
     quality  (See Box 1).
     ~     J  V   -  •.   •   -.  .     •  - •   .

            V-
     Use Prohibitions -Local ordinances can
     be used to prohibit the storage or use of
     dangerous materials in a protection area.

     Zoning Ordinances - By defining the
     types of activity that can occur within a
     district and specifying appropriate
     regulations, a community can prevent
     activities that could be harmful to drinking
     watei;.  A compendium of ordinances that
     exist around the country can be found at
     www.epa.gov/r5water/ordcom.

     Subdivision Ordinances - Subdivision
     ordinances ...... can,, be used to set housing
     density standards, require open space set-
     asides, and regulate the tuning of
     development and growth in a community.

     Purchase of Property or Development
     Rights - A community can establish
     control over the activities in a source
                                                  water protection area by using funds to
                                                  acquire land or conservation easements.

                                                  Public Education - Activities such as
                                                  developing fact sheets and posters or holding
                                                  workshops or fairs can build community
                                                  support for protection.

                                                  Local Health Regulations - Local regulatory
                                                  measures such as sanitary setbacks can avoid
                                                  contamination by preventing the installation
                                                  of septic tanks close to a drinking water well.
                  Boxl
     Managing Contaminants With
              CWSRF Funds

•  Removal of leaking underground storage
    tank (UST) and remediation of
    contaminated soil and ground water.
    Nebraska and Wyoming have used the
    CWSRF for numerous UST projects.

•  Remediation of contamination from
    underground injection wells and/or
    inactive municipal hazardous waste sites
    has been funded by the New York CWSRF
    program.

•  Agricultural best management practices
    (BMPs) such as:
    • No-till equipment to reduce runoff to
      surface drinking water supplies or
    • Manure management measures for
      animal feeding operations (AFOs).
    Minnesota's CWSRF has given loans for
    thousands of thesis types of projects.

•  Landfill monitoring wells and upgrades.
    Three Alaskan cities have used the
    CWSRF to fund landfill-related projects.

•  Restoration of wetlands. Washington
    loaned CWSRF money to the City of Port
    Townsend to preserve wetlands.

•  Septic tanks.  CWSRFs in Massachusetts
    and Maine have funded the replacement of
    failed individual siystems. Delaware is
    using the CWSRF to provide incentives to
    repair failing septic systems.

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 Financing Source Water Protection...
 The Clean Water State Revolving Fund

    For more than 10 years, the CWSRF
    program has been financing projects to
    protect the quality of surface water and
 ground water throughout the country.  The
 SRF programs in each state and Puerto Rico
 operate like banks. Federal and state
 contributions are used to capitalize or set up
 the programs. These assets, in turn, are used to
 make low or no-interest loans for important
 water quality projects. Funds are then repaid
 to the CWSRF over terms as long as twenty
 years. Repaid funds are recycled to fund other
 water quality projects. States develop annual
 Intended Use Plans (lUPs) that describe how
 they will use funds in the program to support
 water quality objectives.

 Capacity of the CWSRF

 Nationally, the CWSRF has in excess of $30
 billion in assets and has issued $26 billion in
 loans since 1988. The CWSRF currently is
 funding nearly $3 billion worth of water
 quality projects annually. Clearly, the CWSRF
 can be a powerful financial resource for
 funding source water protection projects.

 Who May Qualify

 The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1987
 authorized the CWSRF to fund point source
 (ง212), nonpoint source (ง319), and estuary
 (ง320) projects. The CWSRF may fund source
 water protection projects for eligible loan
 recipients, including public water systems,
 community groups, individuals, conservation
 districts, and nonprofit organizations.

 The CWSRF allows funding for a wide variety
 of protection projects. However, since the
 program is managed by the states, project
 funding varies according to the priorities,
 policies,  and laws within each state. The types
 of applicants eligible for assistance may also
 vary by state.

 Getting a Project Funded

 Given that each state administers its own
 CWSRF program differently, the first step in
 seeking a CWSRF loan is to contact a state
 CWSRF representative - who can be found on
the CWSRF website
www.epa.gov/owm/finan.htm Your state
 representative will be able to guide you through
 the proper channels. Here are some suggested
 questions to ask your representative:

 *•   Has the state committed to funding source
     water protection activities in its CWSRF
     IUP?
 *•   If not, what can I do to help get these projects
     listed on the IUP?
 *•   Can an individual or private entity receive a
     CWSRF loan for source water protection
     activities?
 >   If not, can I receive a CWSRF loan through
     my county?

 Sources of Loan Repayment
                 Success Story
           Pine Barrens, New York

   The ground water aquifer beneath the Pine
   Barrens of New York is the sole source
   water aquifer for 2.6 million people in the
   region.  Road construction, housing and
   commercial development have vastly
   reduced the rate at which water recharges
   the underlying aquifer. At the same time,
   water continues to be withdrawn at an
   increasing rate as population and
   commercial/industrial activity increases.
   Salt water intrusion can occur in coastal
   areas when recharge cannot keep up with
   withdrawal. An additional impact of
   increased development is that septic tank
   effluent can move through the porous soils
   of the Pine Barrens and reach the aquifer
   relatively untreated.

   The New York CWSRF program made a
   loan of $75 million to Suffolk County for
   land acquisition in the Pine Barrens
   Wilderness and Water Protection Preserve
   on Long Island. The acquisition is part of a
   larger plan by state, local and private
   organizations to protect the main recharge
   zone for Suffolk County's drinking water.
Each state must approve a source of loan
repayment as part of the application process.
Although finding a source of repayment can prove
challenging, it is not impossible. Many users of
the CWSRF have demonstrated a high level of
creativity in developing sources of repayment and

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   111 111 III
           have found that the source of repayment need
           not come from the project itself.

           Some potential repayment sources include:

               ^ property owner's ability to pay
i. MM -
                 (determined during loan application)
                 fees paid by developers
               1 recreational fees (fishing licenses,
                 entrance fees)
               4 dedicated portions of local, county, or
               'iii state taxes or fees
               4- drinking water fees
               4 donations or dues made to nonprofit
                                         -
               4 storm water management fees
               4 wastewater user charges
                 Success Story
               Fresno, California

    The Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control
    District received a $20 million CWSRF
    loan to implement non-point source control
    measures hi the Central Fresno County
    service area and regional ground water
    basins, which serve as the primary source
    of drinking water for the area.  The
    measures are intended to reduce run-off and
    microbial pollutants from regional urban
    and agricultural lands by constructing
    treatment facilities and implementing
    source control measures. The primary
    strategy of the plan is to retain all runoff
    within the District.

    The SRF loan will support the construction
    of thirty storm water retention/detention
    facilities in the high growth perimeter of
    the Fresno/Clovis metropolitan areas and
    seven storm water quality control basins
    along the San Joaquin River.  The District
    Board of Directors adopted a resolution
    authorizing the repayment of the loan
    through a Drainage Fee Ordinance.
Challenges Ahead

EPA encourages state;3 to open their CWSRFs to
the widest variety of water quality projects while
still addressing their highest priority projects.
Those interested hi so urce water protection should
seek out their CWSRF program, learn how their
state program works and participate in the annual
process mat determines which projects are
funded.

Other Federal Funding Sources

For additional information about funding
programs for water quality activities, including
source water protection, visit the EPA Watershed
Program page at
www.epa.gov/OWOW/watershed/.
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For more information about EPA programs, or for
a program representative hi your state, contact:

    , Clean Water State Revolving Fund Branch
     U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (Mailcode 4202)
            Washington, D.C. 20460
   Phone: (202) 260-7360 Fax: (202) 260-1827
         www.epa.gov/owm/finan.htm
              Clean Water
              State Revolving Fund


  Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program
     U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (Mailcode 4606)
            Washington, D.C. 20460
              Fax: (202) 401-2345
       www.epa.gov/safewater/dwsrf.html

             Source Water Program
 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (Mailcode 4606)
            Washington D.C. 20460
              Fax: (202) 260-0732
       www.epa.gov/i5afewater/protect.html
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