The Wellhead Protection Program
in Pennsylvania:
An Overview (January 2002)

Almost half of Pennsylvania’s residents rely on ground water as a source of drinking water. Ground water used as a public water supply is less expensive to use than surface water due to land acquisition costs and various treatment requirements for surface-water supplies. However, if ground-water contamination occurs, it is very costly to employ remedial activities and to provide the necessary treatment to comply with drinking water standards. Also, once ground water is polluted, it remains contaminated for a long period of time. Even if ground-water remediation is undertaken, it is a long and difficult process to attempt to restore water quality.

Section 1428 of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires States to submit plans to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that describe how they will protect ground-water sources used by public water systems from contamination. The Wellhead Protection Program (WHPP) is a proactive effort designed to apply proper management techniques and various preventive measures to protect ground-water supplies thereby ensuring public health and preventing the need for expensive treatment of wells to comply with drinking water standards. The underlying principle of the program is that it is much less expensive to protect ground water than it is to try to restore it once it becomes contaminated. Pennsylvania’s WHPP was approved by EPA in March 1999 and it is the cornerstone of the Source Water Assessment Program which is also required under the SDWA. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the primacy agency for the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Source Protection Section in the Bureau of Watershed Management is responsible for administering the WHPP and other drinking water source protection efforts in Pennsylvania.

The responsibilities for wellhead protection (WHP) in Pennsylvania are shared among many stakeholders. Public water suppliers are responsible for assuring the continuous supply of safe and potable water to the consumer. The authority to regulate land use is primarily seated in the local governments whereas the Commonwealth has primary responsibility in regulating public water supplies and most discharges of potential contaminants. Other interested parties may include facility operators, landowners, local agencies and the public. Recognizing the need to balance the interests of all stakeholders, the WHPP emphasizes technical, financial and educational assistance to facilitate the development of voluntary local WHP programs. Pennsylvania’s Safe Drinking Water Regulations (25 Pa. Code § 109) incorporate aspects of wellhead protection including new community water system well permitting requirements, a three-tiered approach for wellhead protection areas and minimum elements for DEP approval of voluntary local WHP programs. Strategies for the delineation of wellhead protection areas have been developed based on hydrogeologic investigations conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey for DEP. Funding for local WHP program development is available through DEP’s Source Water Protection Grant Program. Although WHP is voluntary at the local level, a growing number of municipalities and water systems across the state are already implementing local WHP programs in order to protect public health and safety by ensuring the quality of their drinking water sources. In addition to the public health and economic benefits associated with preventing costly contamination of ground-water sources, an effective local WHP program may help to secure a monitoring waiver for certain synthetic organic chemicals, thereby reducing analytical costs to a water system. Wellhead protection also promotes sound land-use planning and complements the principles of pollution prevention.

For information on the WHPP, contact the appropriate regional DEP office (see next page) or the Source Protection Section at 717-787-5259.

A comprehensive local WHP program consists of several discrete and vital components:

I. Designation of Responsibilities/Formation of Steering Committee

• A Steering Committee composed of the necessary representatives to designate responsibilities for planning and implementing wellhead protection activities should be formed to guide the effort. Objectives should be defined and methods to achieve goals should be stated.
• Sources of information/Organizations potentially involved:
  • U.S. EPA: guidance, information and support
  • Pennsylvania DEP (Source Protection Section & Regional Water Supply Management Program): state coordination, technical oversight/guidance, grants
  • County Planning Commission: coordination of land-use issues
  • Municipalities: implementation of land-use tools
  • Water Supplier: implementation, administration and coordination of local WHP program, public education
  • Other organizations that could be involved include Conservation Districts, agricultural groups, potentially affectedindustries/businesses, local universities, civic groups, etc.

II. Public Participation

• Public participation and education activities are critical to the success of a local WHP program. If the public and local officials understand the adverse health and economic effects associated with contaminated ground-water sources, they will be more willing to support protection measures designed to safeguard their drinking water supply.

III. Wellhead Protection Area (WHPA) Delineation (Click here to view an example)

• A WHPA is defined as the surface and subsurface area surrounding a public water supply well, wellfield, spring or infiltration gallery through which contaminants are reasonably likely to move toward and reach the water source. Chapter 109 currently establishes three zones of protection. Zone I is the immediate area surrounding the source which may range from a radius of 100 to 400 feet depending on site-specific source and aquifer characteristics. A compliance assistance document on Zone I delineation for new sources is available. Zone II is a radius of 1/2 mile, unless a more detailed delineation is established to identify the surface area overlying the portion of the aquifer through which water is diverted to a well or flows to a spring or infiltration gallery (capture zone for a well; note that this is not the same as the zone of influence). Zone III is an area which contributes surface water or ground water to Zone II which may be significant to protecting the source. Collectively, Zone II and Zone III constitute the contributing area of the source.
• WHPA delineation initially involves the formulation of a conceptual ground-water flow model followed by stepwise refinement based on the availability of site-specific data. The level of delineation should be commensurate with the level of the WHPA management approach. Delineation methods include:
  • Fixed Radii Methods
  • Simplified Variable Shapes
  • Hydrogeologic Mapping
  • Numerical Modeling
  • Analytical Methods

IV. Identification of Contaminant Sources (Click here to see a table of common sources of ground-water contamination)

• Within each WHPA, all man-made sources that may adversely impact public health or prevent compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act should be identified.

V. Development of WHPA Management Approaches

• Implement appropriate ground-water protection tools to manage existing sources of contamination within the WHPA and to ensure that future land use activities do not pose a threat to ground water. Regulatory management approaches will require a rigorous WHPA delineation.
• Various regulatory or non-regulatory tools are available; examples include:
  • Zoning
  • Health Regulations
  • Transfer of Development Rights
  • Subdivision Control
  • Transfer of Development Rights
  • Public Education
  • Technical/Financial Assistance
  • Implementation of Best Management Practices
  • Purchase/Donation of Property/Land Trusts
  • Ground-Water Monitoring
  • Household Hazardous Waste Collection Programs

VI. Contingency Planning

• Develop provisions for alternate water supplies in the event of well or wellfield contamination and emergency response planning for environmental incidents and security threats that may impact a well or wellfield.

VII. New Water Supply Source Protection

• Adequate planning for the siting of new wells and protection of potential new well sites.

Regional Offices:

This fact sheet and related environmental information are available electronically via Internet. Access the DEP Web Site at www.dep.state.pa.us (directLINK "Source Water").

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