Well Head Protection
Safe Drinking Water...It's Everyone's Business!

What is a Wellhead Protection Program?

A wellhead protection program (WHPP) is a planning and management approach to protect groundwater supply systems from contamination.  By identifying and managing potential sources of contamination than can affect water supply wells, communities can do a better job of protecting public water supplies.

The U.S. EPA has defined the seven components of a WHPP:

1.  Identify roles and duties of government and public water supply agencies;
2.  Delineate the wellhead protection area (WHPA) for each wellhead;
3.  Identify potential sources of contamination within each WHPA;
4.  Develop management methods for wellhead protection, including education and
     regulatory approaches;
5.  Develop contingency plans for public water supply systems;
6.  Provide for proper siting of new wells to minimize potential contamination; and
7.  Provide for public education and participation.

What are the benefits of implementing a WHPP?

A WHPP provides greater protection for the health and safety of the people who use the ground water supply.  Water suppliers have a responsibility to provide safe drinking water.  Wellhead protection programs are a tool for diligent stewardship of this responsibility.

A WHPP helps to protect the financial investment that the community has made in its groundwater supply system.  A new supply can well cost between $150,000 and $500,00.  The cost of a wellhead protection program is a fraction of the cost of a new well.  A recent EPA study found that it is up to 200 times more expensive to deal with contamination than it is to prevent it.

A WHPP may potentially reduce drinking water monitoring requirements (see below).

Are WHPPs related to exemptions from costly monitoring requirements?

Rules resulting from amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1986 require extensive monitoring of drinking water supplies.  These monitoring requirements pose two significant problems:

1.  Monitoring is required on a quarterly basis at considerable cost (estimated at $4,000 to $5,000 per year per well).

2.  There are not enough laboratories to perform the required analysis.  With the exception of the state of Michigan, there are few labs in Michigan capable of analyzing for all of the required parameters, and the state lab can not possibly handle the volume of samples that would result from implementing the monitoring requirements.  Therefore, Michigan negotiated a monitoring waiver program with the U.S. EPA.  The program greatly reduced monitoring frequency and parameters.  Part of the negotiated waiver program was a commitment to implement source water assessment (i.e., wellhead protection programs).

Few communities have completed wellhead protection programs.  It remains uncertain what form the waiver program will take after the current program expires.  The state of Michigan is considering amending future waiver programs to require communities to have wellhead protection programs in order to qualify for maximum groundwater monitoring exemptions.

Kalkaska Wellhead Protection Team

  Allen Dimon, Dan McKenzie

William Cousins, Craig Wood

Richard Courson, Lyle Blanksvard