INTRODUCTION TO WARWS AND THE SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PROGRAM

Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems

National Rural Water

• Founded in 1976
• Founded because while larger drinking water systems had resources to meet the 1974 SDWA, small and rural systems did not.
• First states to join were Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana and Texas.
• Wyoming joined in 1987.
• There is a NRWA affiliated program in all 50 states
• "Quality On Tap – Our Commitment – Our Profession"

Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems

• Founded in 1987
• The Association began the Technical Assistance and Training Program in 1989
• Started with one Circuit Rider, now there are seven TA positions
• Governed by a Board of Directors from around the state

WARWS Mission

• To provide the assistance necessary to meet the needs of our membership and to ensure the protection of Wyoming's water - our most precious resource.
• Provide Technical Assistance
• Troubleshooting Water and Wastewater issues
• Leak Detection
• Provide Training
• One-on-One
• Small Groups
• Semi-Annual Conferences
• Provide access to Resources
• Grant and Loan Application assistance

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The Systems

• 778 Public Drinking Water Systems
• Municipalities, Districts, Homeowner’s Associations, Privately owned
• Community
• 15 taps or 25 people served year-round
• Non-Community Non-Transient
• Serves 25 people, 6 months out of the year
• Transient Non-Community
• Serves at least 60 people over the year
• WARWS provides TA and Training to systems less than 10,000 population
• All but 11 cities in Wyoming!

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The Systems

• Approximately 100 Wastewater Systems
• Municipalities, Districts, Homeowner’s Associations, Privately owned
• Discharge Systems
• Non-Discharge Systems
• Consecutive Systems
• WARWS provides TA and Training to systems less than 10,000 population
• All but 11 cities in Wyoming!

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WARWS Members

• WARWS is a membership organization
• Systems pay annual dues
• Receive free assistance
• Emergency Response Plans
• Reduced rate training fees
• Source Water Protection Plans
• Quarterly magazine, The Connection
• System memberships, Associate memberships and Individual memberships are available

WARWS Programs

• Drinking Water Circuit Rider – 2 positions, USDA Funded
• Wastewater Circuit Rider – 1 position, USDA Funded
• Training Specialist – 1 position, EPA Funded
• Source Water Protection Specialist – 1 position, Farm Bill Funded
• Small Systems Circuit Rider – 1 position, State Funded
• Executive Director
• Office Manager and Administrative Coordinator

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Drinking Water Circuit Rider

• Provides training and technical assistance to Community and NTNC systems under 10,000
• Train, not Do!
• Regulatory Compliance Assistance
• Assists with developing Operation and Maintenance Plans
• Emergency Response Plans
• Sampling training
• Exam Prep
• Troubleshooting drinking water and distribution issues

Wastewater Circuit Rider

• Provides training and technical assistance to systems under 10,000
• Troubleshooting wastewater and collection issues
• Regulatory compliance assistance
• Sampling assistance
• Smoke testing
• Sludge judging
• Duckweed removal
• Sustainability training

Training Specialist

• Develops trainings for all disciplines and systems, regardless of size
• Semi-annual week-long training conferences
• On-site training
• Webinars
• Sustainability training
• Board training
• Apprenticeship Program
• Emergency Response Planning
• Rate Study

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Small Systems Circuit Rider

• Provides training and technical assistance to Transient Non-Community Systems
• Start-up Assistance
• Sampling Training
• Regulatory Compliance Assistance
• Emergency Response Plans

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Source Water Protection

• Works with all systems to develop Source Water Protection Plans or Wellhead Protection Plans
• Provides training and technical assistance
• Meets with regulatory agencies
• Meets with land managers and industry reps regarding source water protection
• Provides outreach to schools and special interest groups

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Source Water Protection in Wyoming

• Source Water Protection in Wyoming is voluntary
• Systems can develop plans, but aren’t required to submit them to DEQ
• DEQ doesn’t currently have a process for review and approval of the plans
• Several DEQ rules refer to “state approved source water protection plans”
• 42 systems in Wyoming have WARWS developed source protection plans
• WARWS developed plans are the sole property of the system.

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Components of a SWP

• Source Inventory
• Assessment
• Map
• Stakeholders
• Contaminant Inventory
• Mitigation Strategies
• Contingency Plan
• Public Involvement

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Source Inventory

Inventory of all water sources used by a system

Age of source

Location of source

88% of all public water systems use groundwater sources

Assessment

Source Assessments consider the water source, hydrogeology, potential risks due to age of intake, nearby potential contaminant sources and land use

The State of Wyoming completed a large number of assessments in 2004, utilizing a contractor. This was voluntary, so not all systems participated.

Map

Maps show the source, the zones of influence as well as potential contamination sources. Land ownership may be shown as well.

Stakeholders

• People or entities who have a vested interest in the water source, or have the potential to contaminate the source
• Land management agencies
• Private Landowners
• Conservation Districts
• Industry
• Pipelines
• Special interest groups

Contaminant Inventory

• Source Water Assessment
• WYDEQ databases
• Visit with locals
• EPA website
• https://www.epa.gov/sourcewaterprotection/drinking-water-mapping-application-protect-source-waters-dwmaps
• Windshield surveys

Mitigation Strategies

• Work with Stakeholders to develop ways to reduce the likelihood of contaminants being released
• Develop strategies to be quickly alerted if there is a contamination event
• Develop a plan to prevent contaminated water from entering the system
• Develop an alternate source plan (Contingency)

Contingency Plan

• Provides alternate source options if a drinking water source is compromised
• Two-source option
• Connection to neighboring community
• Hauled water
• Bottled water

Public Involvement

• Public meetings to share the plan and strategies
• Gather input from the public about mitigation strategies and other plan components
• Develop a stakeholder group that meets routinely
• Stakeholder group continues to maintain the plan
• Public Water System adopts plan
• Sends to DEQ for review (maybe)

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