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The ICPRB is deeply involved in helping the jurisdictions of the
Potomac Basin assess the health and safety of their drinking water
supplies. The programs overseeing the implementation of these assessments,
known as Source Water Assessment Programs (SWAP) were created through
amendments to the Safe
Drinking Water Act in 1996.
The amendments require that States assess all their watersheds
that recharge the water supply for public drinking water systems
for potential contaminant sources that may affect water quality
at the water intake. Four tasks are to be completed in order to
comply with these requirements. They are:
1. Delineation of the watershed above the source water intake
2. Inventory all potential non-point and point sources of contamination
3. Determine the susceptibility of the water supply to the contaminant
sources
4. Make the results public to the community served by the water
supplier
When completed, the assessments help water suppliers protect the
sources of their drinking water from contamination and provide valuable
information to the general public about the safety and reliability
of their drinking water.
The ICPRB developed the source water assessments under contract
with the PA DEP for the Marsh Creek watershed
near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the Evitts
Creek watershed near Cumberland, Maryland. The ICPRB also completed
an assessment of the source water for the District
of Columbia metropolitan area in April of 2002.
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