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Source Water Protection (SWP)

Resources for Source Water Protection Planning

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    EPA Resources

    Other Resources

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    • Strategic Management and Available Resources and Technology (SMART) about Water Program  - The SMART about Water Program was an EPA-funded project developed by the National Environmental Services Center (NESC) and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP). It provides technical and training resources about source water and wellhead protection planning designed for use in small and rural communities, including a training curriculum with instructional materials (e.g., power point presentations and worksheets), evaluation forms, and background information.
    • Source Water Protection Handbook: Using Land Conservation to Protect Local Drinking Water Supplies - This guide makes the case for protecting source water through land conservation and protection of watershed natural assets. It presents an approach for building a source water protection plan, including steps for prioritizing protection, building partnerships, and utilizing financing mechanisms. It also provides case studies.
    • Path to Protection: Ten Strategies for Successsful Source Water Protection - This companion resource to the Source Water Protection Handbook summarizes findings based on experiences from five source water protection pilot projects.  It proposes ten strategies to help more state and local governments on the path to source water protection.
    • Protecting the Source - This report explores scientific, economic, and public health rationales for using land conservation for drinking water protection and presents best practices for implementation locally. 

    Learn more about source water protection and planning.