Imagine a world where everyone recognizes the value of protecting all sources of drinking water: lakes, rivers, streams, and aquifers. Imagine a world where every economic sector recognizes that smart decisions reduce the impact on water bodies and builds good will. Imagine a world that recognizes the connection between those water bodies and downstream drinking water. In this world, people and industries go beyond actions that are required by regulators because we want clean drinking water for ourselves and our neighbors. This is the future that was imagined when the Source Water Collaborative was founded more than 20 years ago.
Starting as a group of 14, these organizations came together in mutual recognition of our commitment to address source water protection challenges. We wanted to work together to turn those challenges into opportunities and results. Today, there are 31 members (organizations and governmental entities) in the Collaborative, each of which has some important role to play in source water protection. River Network is one of these members! The Collaborative serves several roles:
- As a forum for these organizations to work together, which is done primarily through four subgroups that meet to discuss important aspects of these issues.
- To create opportunities to inform and educate others on what source water protection is and how we all can play a role in it, and on a variety of opportunities and topics.
- To look for ways to both systematically address this issue on a large scale, while supporting those working on it locally.
By protecting water at the source, we are helping to create a multi-barrier approach where we have multiple safeguards to protect drinking water quality. At the same time, we are helping to make drinking water affordable by keeping source water clean. If water quality thresholds are surpassed for too long or too often, additional treatment by water utilities may be needed. These additional treatments come with significant capital costs and subsequent increases to customers’ water bills. By protecting water at the source, we can keep these costs down. Recognizing there are many cost drivers putting pressure on water rates, every action we can take to keep our water clean helps. Additionally, the Collaborative encourages responsible practices across industries, agriculture, and elsewhere. We believe that everyone plays some role in this vital issue.
The Collaborative hosts an extensive repository of publications, webinars, and references to member organization resources. A couple of highlights include a recent webinar series on Forestry and Conservation, an NPDES Permit guide for those interested in engaging with permitting processes, and an agricultural collaboration toolkit.
Much of the value of the collaborative comes from the efforts of its members, here are just a few examples:
- National Rural Water Association: NRWA, which focuses on the needs of smaller and rural utilities, currently hosts the other current Collaborative co-chair, David Laughlin. NRWA Runs a successful source water protection program where experts visit many small utilities and assist with source water protection issues.
These are just four of 31 collaborative members. Every one of them has a major role to play and something important to bring to the table. As we all seek to protect sources of drinking water, we look forward to the next 20 years and beyond of the Collaborative.
To learn more or get involved in the Source Water Collaborative, visit https://www.sourcewatercollaborative.org/.
