|
|
|
How To Protect Your Drinking Water
|
Business New Haven
11/12/2001
By: Susan Cornell
|
Did you know that each of us lives on a watershed? This is because the land on which we live drains into some body of water, such as a river, stream, lake or reservoir. What you do on the land you occupy has an impact on groundwater and may even determine the quality of the water you drink.
Also, did you know that the same water as been on earth for millions of years? So the water you drink today may once have been drunk by a dinosaur. This same water will be used and reused by future generations. Water keeps us alive, so we need to take care of it. That means two things: making sure we don't waste it, and keeping water clean. But how can we protect our drinking water so that we maintain its quality now and forever?
Here are six steps you can take to protect your water:
1. Maintain your septic system. It can be extremely effective at treating domestic wastewater. If improperly maintained, however, the system will pollute groundwater. Use your septic system for domestic wastewater disposal and have a licensed septic hauler pump it out every three to five years.
2. Be careful of what you place in storm drains. The water in storm drains doesn't go to sewage treatment plants. Most storm drains in the road empty directly into the nearest wetland, pond, stream or water-supply reservoir. So don't let anything that you don't want to drink find its way into a storm drain. In addition, be careful when applying fertilizers and pesticides to your lawn, washing paintbrushes, washing and maintaining your automobile, and walking your dog - all these activities can pollute our water resources.
3. Check underground tanks for leaks. Be careful that your home's heating oil does not leak into the environment. And watch that the fuel lines and pumps in your basement don't leak into a sump or floor drain. Leaks can lead to the expense of cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater.
4. Dispose of household hazardous wastes properly. We use hazardous products in our homes every day: in the kitchen, bathrooms, garage, basement and yard. HazWaste Central, a free collection center for household hazardous wastes, provides a facility for their disposal. For more information such as the site's schedule and what to and what not to bring, check www.rwater.com/hazwaste or call 203-401-2712.
5. Maintain a buffer of unmowed grass or woodland along the water's edge. This helps native vegetation by trapping contaminants and preventing erosion.
6. Report chemical spills or other incidents that can threaten water quality by calling 203-562-4020.
Additional details on step No. 3: In 1999, the state's Department of Environmental Protection, initiated a program to encourage the removal of residential underground storage tanks and to provide homeowners the opportunity to avoid paying remediation cleanup costs for pollution. As part of this program, a clean-up account was established allowing homeowners who remove their storage tanks between July 1999 and January 2002 to be reimbursed. A homeowner must have the storage tank removed or replaced by a registered contractor, approved by the DEP, in order to obtain reimbursement from the account. The homeowner must pay the contractor the first $500 for clean-up costs, and the contractor applies to the account for reimbursement.
To protect the sources of our water, the Regional Water Authority (RWA) works at the state and local levels to ensure that drinking water remains clean and safe.
Locally, the RWA examines existing land uses in towns and investigates proposed developments on aquifer lands and public water supply watersheds. There are more than 2,500 watershed inspections conducted annually. At the state level, the RWA works to support legislation that protects the water and the environment.
The RWA supports the DEP's efforts to adopt regulations to protect the state's public water supply aquifers and believes that adoption of land-use controls in aquifer areas is long overdue. As proposed, the DEP regulations seek to balance economic and public-health concerns and will continue to allow compatible commercial and industrial development in aquifer protection areas.
The RWA also reviews applications going before local land-use commissions that could affect water supplies. Often reviews recommend that developers construct stormwater treatment systems to minimize the impact of the proposed development on water supplies and the environment. The RWA has also constructed treatment systems on its own land to improve stormwater quality from surrounding areas. These systems include grass swales, stormwater management basins and manmade wetlands that collect and treat runoff from roads, parking lots and lawns.
RWA assistance permits towns to advance innovative source water protection measures to protect the public water supply. And, each individual consumer can protect the water supply with simple yet invaluable measures.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
