Western States Held Source Water Protection Meeting this Week with Technical Assistance Providers

On November 17, the Nevada Integrated Source Water Protection Program held a virtual workshop aimed at maximizing state source water protection partnerships with technical assistance providers. Approximately 60 people attended the workshop representing state source water protection programs and EPA staff in Regions 8, 9, and 10, technical assistance (TA) provider organizations including Rural Communities Assistance Corporation RCAC), the Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), as well as EPA Headquarters, GWPC, and ASDWA.

Key points from the workshop presentations by TA providers and discussions included opportunities to work together on:

• Building partnerships with multiple water utilities and partners to protect a common drinking water source to help leverage resources and funding.
• Coordinating across sectors (e.g., power, transportation agriculture, parks) for implementing projects with mutual benefits.
• Helping communities build resilience by Including source water in utility asset management plans and considering options for natural and grey infrastructure needs.
• Assisting drinking water utilities with developing source water protection plans and implementation actions.
• Considering options for source water assessment maps, including very simple maps and google earth, as well as more complex GIS platforms.
• Creating state and local source water “collaboratives” with multiple partners.

For more information about the workshop, view the agenda here.