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Developing a Source Water Protection Plan begins with forming a local team of agencies, groups, and individual citizens (see inset). Without local participation, a Source Water Protection Plan will be just another document--not the working and continually evolving plan that can truly accomplish the major goal of the program.
In addition to representatives of public water utilities, possible team members could include:
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Local government officials
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Representatives of regional planning groups
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County officials
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Industry representatives
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Farmers
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Developers
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Tribal representatives
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Members of community service organizations
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Chambers of Commerce
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Representatives of public interest and/or environmental groups
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Local teachers or education professionals
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Nevada Department of Environmental Protection
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Representatives from Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management
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Interested individuals
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Once a local team has been formed, a steering committee can be selected. This committee will work most closely with a specialist from Nevada Rural Water Association to develop and complete the actual plan, based on input and suggestions from the local team.
The actual plan will include:
The actual plan will include:
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A map showing the source water protection area.
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An inventory of the different source waters within the protection area.
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An inventory of the potential contaminants that could affect each of the source waters.
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Preventative measures/management strategies that can be taken to address various sources of contamination.
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A contingency plan for supplying safe water to consumers should contamination occur, or service be disrupted for any reason. This may address the issue of alternative water sources, as well.
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Remember . . . the main goal is to protect water sources before they become polluted, or before overuse adversely affects water supplies.
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Provisions for reviewing and updating the plan, to ensure that the plan evolves along with any changes that could influence drinking water sources.
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