EPA Releases Online Mapping Tool to Help Protect Drinking Water Sources

Today, EPA released DWMAPS — the Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters. This robust, online mapping tool provides the public, water system operators, state programs, and Federal agencies with critical information to help them safeguard the sources of America’s drinking water.

The mapping system will not display the locations of Public Water System facility intakes, but it does contain a wide variety of data useful to the protection of drinking water sources. EPA developed DWMAPS in consultation with EPA regional drinking water programs, state drinking water regulators (including ASDWA representatives), and public water systems.  DWMAPS allows users to learn about their watershed; understand more about their water supplier; see if sources of their drinking water are polluted and if there are possible sources of pollution that could affect their communities’ water supply.

Utilities and state drinking water program managers can also use DWMAPS with their own state and local data. It allows them to identify potential sources of contamination in their locations, find data to support source water assessments and plans to manage potential sources of contamination and evaluate accidental spills and releases.  DWMAPS also integrates drinking water protection activities with other environmental programs at the federal, state, and local levels.

You may download more information at:  www.epa.gov/sourcewaterprotection/dwmaps