Public water systems and their communities need clear resources to understand human-made and natural risks to their drinking water supply. Knowing where the water comes from and identifying pollutant sources is essential for ensuring safe, reliable service and protecting public health. Accurate drinking water source area maps and visual tools that can be shared with residents and local officials are particularly valuable because they support a shared understanding of vulnerabilities and priorities. Understanding specific contaminants of concern and land uses that may affect source water quality is also critical.
One of the key resources for public water systems and their communities is the state-provided “Source Water Assessment" and “Updated Source Water Assessment" that identify the drinking water source area and assesses the vulnerability of your drinking water source(s) to contamination. The source water assessments provide a broad view of the information and are meant to be supplemented and refined with local knowledge from the water system, community, and other interested parties. Additional resources are available to evaluate specific areas of concern (i.e. emerging contaminants such as cyanotoxins or PFAS) and review your public water systems drinking water quality monitoring data.
Popular assessment resources
Public water systems and local communities can use this assessment information to voluntarily develop and implement drinking water protection strategies that improve water quality, reduce future treatment costs, and protect public health. Go to the Protecting your Drinking Water Source web page to learn more and access resources.