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EPA Lauds Philadelphia for Source Water Protection

Release Date: 5/8/2002
Contact Information: Roy Seneca, (215) 814-5567

Roy Seneca, (215) 814-5567

PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Philadelphia Water Department a source water protection award for its efforts to protect the city’s water supply.

“We applaud Philadelphia for working with local watershed organizations, industry and water suppliers to protect its drinking water resources. This award is especially notable today as our nation recognizes National Drinking Water Week,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

The Philadelphia Water Department received the award for its leadership and commitment to protect drinking water sources through projects that include:

• Restoring natural vegetation along a 1/4-mile section of the Schuylkill River to discourage Canada geese from gathering. By diverting the geese, the city prevented an estimated 20-40 tons of goose droppings from running into the river just upstream from a water intake used by the city’s Belmont Water Treatment Plant.
• Sponsoring public education campaigns to teach residents about the impacts of their actions on local streams and rivers.
• Conducting a source water assessment for 50 surface water intakes in the Schuylkill and Lower Delaware rivers where the city draws drinking water. This effort combines state-of-the-art technical information and decision support tools with local watershed knowledge and experience.
• Treating storm water runoff at Monoshone Creek to reduce stream impairments and protect a sensitive area just upstream from a surface water intake.

Philadelphia Takes Steps to Protect Drinking Water Sources - 5/8/02
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EPA’s source water protection awards program encourages communities that use public water supply systems to take steps to protect drinking water sources. The award is open to individuals, public and private organizations throughout EPA’s mid-Atlantic region, which includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

The award program is getting special emphasis this year as EPA commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.

In 1996, the federal Safe Drinking Water Act was amended to give greater protection to millions of Americans who rely on public drinking water systems. By law, all state must delineate areas supplying drinking water to public systems and have programs in place for protect drinking water sources from contamination.

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