Source Water Assessment & Wehllhead Protection

West Virginia Source Water Assessment and Wellhead Protection Programs

In West Virginia, the Source Water Assessment and Protection Program encompasses both wellhead protection and surface water source water assessment efforts. Implementation of the wellhead protection program began in the early 1990s, as part of West Virginia ground water protection strategy. This protection strategy was extended to surface water sources with the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments. The Act require states to develop and implement a Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP) program designed to evaluate the vulnerability of public drinking water systems to possible sources of contamination, and encourages states to work with these systems in developing protection and management plans.

Following the January 2014 Elk River MCHM spill, the Legislature revised portions of Article 1 of Chapter 16 (Public Health) of the West Virginia Code to address regulation of public water systems, source water protection, grants for wellhead and source water protection.