United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water (4602)
Washington, DC 20460
EPA813-F-95-002
May 1995
&EPA Protecting
Our Ground Water
Groundwater bursts forth in a
spectacular display from
Yellowstone National Park's
geyser Old Faithful,
-------
Ground Water:
A Vital, Fragile
Resource
Ground Water Contamination
Threatens Our Drinking Water
Supplies
The largest supplies of fresh water up to 96
percent of the world's total water resources
lie under the earth's surface.
Approximately 140 million Americans more
than half the population get their drinking
water from underground sources.
Contaminated ground water can threaten the
health of people whose drinking water comes
from underground sources. Forty-four percent
of the waterborne disease outbreaks between
1981 and 1988 were linked to contaminated
ground water.
Prevention Is Better Than The Cure
Cleaning up contaminated ground water is
expensive, difficult, and sometimes impossible.
Since ground water moves slowly,
contaminants do not mix or spread quickly.
Instead, they remain concentrated in slow-
moving plumes that may persist for many
years. When ground water becomes
contaminated, surface water systems are at risk
because the contaminants may eventually
spread into springs, rivers, lakes, or other
surface water bodies.
Basic Facts About Ground Water
Underground Reservoirs
Ground water is stored primarily in
underground layers of rock, sand, or gravel
known as aquifers. Rarely is ground water
found in large underground lakes or streams.
Ground water tends to travel slowly, sometimes
only a few inches or a few feet each year. It
moves within an aquifer much like water seeps
through coffee grounds in a drip filter. (Of
course, the forces that affect the rate and
direction of ground water flow are much more
complex than the forces at work in making
coffee.)
The Ground Water/Surface Water
Connection
Ground water doesn't remain underground
forever. It comes to the surface through
springs, or it seeps into rivers, lakes, and other
surface water bodies, and is pumped to the
surface by water supply wells. In some areas of
the country, especially the arid regions,
aquifers contribute large portions of the water
found in streams. This helps plants, animals,
fish, and birds survive during droughts.
Recharging Ground Water Supplies
Aquifers are replenished, or recharged, by
water on the surface of the land that seeps into
the ground. The water may come from
precipitation, or it may come from rivers,
lakes, or ponds.
-------
In many parts of the country, recharge areas tie
close to the surface of the land. Consequently.
they are vulnerable to contamination caused by
agricultural, industrial, or residential activities.
The depth of the aquifer, the types of soil
above it. and many other factors affect the
potential for ground water contamination.
Sources of Ground Water
Contamination
Ground water resources across the countrs are
threatened by a number of contamination
sources. These include leaking storage tanks.
septic systems, ha/ardous waste sites, landfills.
and the widespread use of chemicals.
Storage tanks contain gasoline, heating oil.
chemicals, and countless varieties of other
liquids either above or below ground. When
Removing the leaking underground storage lank,
at right, will protect the ground water below it.
storage tanks leak, their contents max
contaminate ground water.
An estimated 10 million storage lanks are
buried in the U.S. Over time, many of the^e
tanks corrode or crack, and when they do leaks
can result. Studies estimate that between 3 and
25 percent of all underground storage tanks
are leaking al any given lime.
The 1990 Water Quality Report to Congress
ranked septic systems as the second greatest
source of ground water contamination.
Approximately 20 million American
households dispose of 3.5 billion gallons ot
liquid waste in septic s\ stems each day
Improperly located, designed, constructed, or
maintained septic systems can leak bacteria.
nitrates, viruses, detergents, household
chemicals, and other pollutants.
There are about 19,000 known abandoned and
uncontrolled hazardous waste sites in the
U.S.. and their ranks are expected to grow as
surveys continue to find new ones. Preliminary
studies of 10.000 sites found some degree of
ground water contamination at 4.000 locations.
U.S. communities and industries dispose of
household and nonha/ardous wastes in some
93.000 landfills nationwide. The great
majority of these landfills are current or
potential sources of ground water
contamination.
Ha/ardous and nonha/ardous liquid wastes
from municipalities and industry are held in
more than I SO.000 surface impoundments
such as pits, ponds, and lagoons. Older
impoundments were often situated and
designed without regard for protecting ground
water supplies. Consequently main
impoundments are located directk over, and
threaten to contaminate, aquifers that suppK
drinking water.
Pesticide and fertili/er use by homeowners
and farmers also can lead to ground water
contamination. Chemical pesticides and
fertili/ers can leach direct!) into aquifers, or
they max mix with precipitation or surface
runoff first. The improper handling of animal
wastes on farms, ranches, feedlots. and similar
operations mas also result in ground water
contamination.
Unless they ar.e contained, feedtot wastes may
sink directly to the aquifer below.
-------
What You Can Do
The best way to protect ground water is to
prevent pollution from entering your water
supply. Federal and slate agencies have
expanded their efforts to prevent ground water
contamination, hut private citi/ens also have an
active role to pluy. Here are a few things you
can do:
Ri'ad this pamphlet to learn more about
h
-------
EPA Regional Offices
Region I (Serving Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and Vermont)
Office of Ground Water
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region i
JFK Federal Building
Boston, MA 02203-2211
Region II (Serving New Jersey, New
York, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands)
Ground Water Management Section
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region II
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
Region III (Serving Delaware, District of
Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and West Virginia)
Office of Ground Water
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region III
841 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Region IV (Serving Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee)
Office of Ground Water
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region IV
345 Courtland Street, NE
Atlanta, GA 30365
Region V (Serving Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and
Wisconsin)
Ground Water Protection Branch
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region V
77 West Jackson Boulevard (WG-16J)
Chicago, IL 60604
Region VI (Serving Arkansas, Louisiana,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas)
Office of Ground Water
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region VI
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75202-2733
Region VII (Serving Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, and Nebraska)
Office of Ground Water
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region VII
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
Region VIII (Serving Colorado,
Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Utah, and Wyoming)
Office of Ground Water
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region VIII
999 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202 2405
Region IX (Serving Arizona, California,
Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, and
Guam)
Office of Ground Water
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region IX
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Region X (Serving Alaska, Idaho,
Oregon, and Washington)
Office of Ground Water
Water Management Division
U.S. EPA, Region X
1200 6th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
-------
PAGE NOT
AVAILABLE
DIGITALLY
-------
Other Major Sources
of ~
When ground water is pumped from an aquifer
near the seacoast faster than it is replenished,
salt water often intrudes and reduces the
usefulness of the remaining fresh water. A
variety of other modem-day practices legal,
illegal, or accidental may also threaten to
contaminate ground water. These include:
The use of highway deicing compounds
and the practice of coating road surfaces
with waste oil;
Illegal "midnight dumping" of hazardous
waste and accidental spills of fuels or
chemicals;
Runoff contaminated by mining wastes;
Inadequately designed or operated
underground injection wells used for waste
disposal or the production of oil, gas, or
minerals.
Protecting and Preserving
Ground Water
EPA Ground Water Protection Programs
The Ground Water Protection Division
coordinates the Agency's activities under the
various laws that relate to ground water.
Similar offices in the 10 EPA regions work
directly with the states. EPA's ground water
protection programs include:
Wellhead Protection. This program relies
on community efforts to protect drinking
water supplies. While national regulatory
programs can provide a "hammer" to wield
over polluters, a preventive approach to
ground water protection is most effective.
Communities have access to information on
local contamination sources and can
implement land use controls to manage
them. EPA recommends five steps
communities can take to implement
wellhead protection:
1. Form a community planning team.
2. Define the land area around the wellhead
to be protected.
3. Identify and locate potential contaminants.
4. Manage the protection area.
5. Plan for the future.
-------
Comprehensive State Ground Water
Protection Program. EPA developed this
program to give states the primary role in
coordinating federal and state ground-water-
related programs. A resource-based
approached established by each state fosters
program coordination.
* Sole Source Aquifers. Anyone, including a
private citizen, can petition EPA to designate
an aquifer as a community's "sole or
principle source" of drinking water; the
petitioner must, however, demonstrate to
EPA that is indeed the case. Once EPA
makes a "sole source" designation, the
Agency has the authority to review any
proposed project that receives federal funds
and that has the potential to contaminate the
aquifer.
For more information on Wellhead Protection
Programs, Comprehensive State Ground Water
Protection Programs, and Sole Source Aquifer
designations, contact your state environmental
agency or your EPA regional office.
Examples of How It Works At The
Community Level
Dayton, Ohio
The city of Dayton began developing a
Wellhead Protection Program in 1985. Two
years later, a fire at a paint warehouse called
that program into action.
The warehouse was located in a Wellhead
Protection Area, so fire officials consulted the
Wellhead Protection Coordinator and the Water
Department Director about controlling the
blaze. Fighting the fire with water would flush
paint into and through the soil into the
ground water that supplied the city's drinking
water wells. Consequently, officials decided to
let the fire burn itself out, thus protecting the
city's drinking water supply and preventing a
costly contamination incident.
North Kingston, Rhode Island
Residents initiated wellhead protection
activities because they were concerned about
the possible effects a proposed landfill
expansion might have on then- drinking water
supply. As they put a Wellhead Protection
Program in place, residents found that one of
the town's drinking water wells was located in
a public works department supply yard. The
routine activities that took place at the yard
could have contaminated the town's drinking
water. As a result of the community's wellhead
protection activities, the public works
department relocated its supply yard outside
the Wellhead Protection Area, thus reducing
the risk of ground water contamination.
Norway, Maine
The town's Water District originally was
surrounded by undeveloped land, but
eventually several shopping centers and gas
stations were built in the area. Concerned about
potential threats to its drinking water well, the
Water District commissioned a wellhead
protection study in 1988. Two years later, when
a gasoline spill was discovered only 350 feet
from the town's well, the Water District used
the study results to speed clean up and keep
costs low.
------- |