The issues that can develop with groundwater contamination can be complex. But protection of groundwater before an event occurs and knowing how to handle it is easy!

 The 1986 Federal Safe Drinking Water Act Amendment directed all States to develop a Well Head Protection Program (WHPP) Plan for both public community (CWS) and public non-community (NCWS) water supply wells. New Jersey's WHPP Plan was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA in Demeber 1991.

The New Jersey Water Association Groundwater Tech has worked with municipalities, school, manufactured housing communities, campgrounds and anyone interested in protection of their sources of drinking water.  

Utilzing a five step approach the Groundwater Protection Speicalist works on organizing a planning team, delineation of the area around the source, inventory any potential sites of concern, suggest some management stratigies and finally work with the system to develop a contigency plan if the worst may happen. This and all associated work done for wellhead protection is available at no-cost.

A goal of the WHPP Plan is to prevent contaminiation of ground-water resources, which provide drinking water to roughly fourty two percent of New Jersey's population.

Groundwater/wellhead protection is the responsibility of all levels of government, but the foremost responsibility for this protection is at the local government level.
NJWATER will work with any system interested in protecting their groundwater supply. 

The Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 established the need for each State to have a Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP). In New Jersey, source-water assessment areas for all public supply wells will be established by NJDEP using there WHPA delineations methods. The Source Water Protection Program provided by NJWATER takes Wellhead Protection further by offering a more regional approch to protect the source. Please contact Peder Nesse for more information on this program.