Planning for the Future: Community-Based Wellhead Protection Area Management

Pollution prevention rather than reaction to pollution is the focus of The Groundwater Foundation’s Community-based Wellhead Protection Area Management (WHPAM) Planning project. The goal of the WHPAM project is to motivate communities to adopt on the ground pollution prevention measures and increase community education on water pollution prevention. The project uses a community-based approach to plan and facilitate the implementation of specific, customized management strategies within a community’s Wellhead Protection Area.

 

In order for a management program to be successful it must be locally-driven and thoughtfully planned out. The Community-based WHPAM planning project leads the community through a process to identify management strategies that will have the greatest effect on reducing the threat of contamination to the water source. The pre-planning activities include, assembling a group of local participants and technical advisors, gathering existing information, including the community contaminant source inventory, identifying local issues and concerns, and beginning public education efforts. This phase paves the way for a smooth planning process by recognizing the need for further management of the resource and education in the community about their water supply. The second phase encompasses the bulk of the management planning process. The plan is developed by a committee of local stakeholders with input from the community through public meetings and community education activities. At the completion of the process the community will have a detailed workplan, the WHPAM Plan, outlining specific actions that will be taken over time to protect the community’s water source. In addition the WHPAM Plan may also be used as the basis for application to a variety of grant programs to receive funding to implement the identified activities and land management practices.

 

This presentation will outline the community-based WHPAM process as well as share the successes and lessons learned from two communities implementing the program.