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        Drinking Water Protection

I know where my drinking water comes from. (ex: Lakes, rivers, groundwater from a well).

If the quality of my drinking water changes, I take action to investigate the cause.

Drinking water is available even when there is a drought or flood.

Groundwater recharge areas in my community have been mapped and a protection program has been implemented.

My community’s emergency response plan addresses the protection of drinking water sources.

Land use activities that could pose a risk to the quantity and quality of the water supply in the future have been evaluated by my community. 

My community encourages conservation development to protect existing natural resources on-site and minimize impacts to the surrounding area.

Drinking water comes from wells, lakes, rivers and springs.  The quality of our drinking water is impacted by activities on the land such as excessive fertilizer, pesticide, and chemical applications, construction, faulty septic systems, and stormwater runoff.  Healthy natural systems filter and break down waste to keep pollution out of the water we drink. Environmentally sensitive development, farming, and household activities sustain the natural systems that protect our drinking water.

Good Watershed Management Saves Tax payers Millions

Skaneateles Lake in Onondaga and Cayuga Counties supplies drinking water to the City of Syracuse and its surrounding towns. The local municipalities, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, County Health Departments, and watershed protection agencies work in partnership to maintain local water quality. Agricultural environmental management plans help to control runoff from farms. An easement program protects environmentally sensitive land. Community support programs help citizens plan landscaping in a way that protects water quality. The Lake’s water quality is so good that the NYS Health Department granted a waiver to forgo building a filtration plant to provide additional water treatment, saving local taxpayers millions of dollars. Visit www.co.cayuga.ny.us/soilcon/ and www.ocswcd.org.

Read your Drinking Water Quality Report from your public water supply that is mailed to your house every year.  If you have a private well, test it annually and use the Home*A*Syst Environmental Risk Assessment Guide available at www.nraes.org to evaluate whether your well may be at risk of being contaminated.

Respond to these statements about your local environment and what you and your community are doing to protect your basic survival needs.  If some statements do not apply to your community, consider them in the context of your watershed.  See the Technical and Financial Assistance Guide for resources regarding “False” and “Find Out!” responses, and contact your County Soil and Water Conservation District.