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| Photo: Patrick Zephyr |
Under a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, The Trust for Public Land and the Smart Growth Leadership Institute, in partnership with the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators and the River Network have selected several state partners for a project focused on Protecting Drinking Water Sources through alignment of state land use and drinking water programs. Since the project's inception in 2007, the national partners have completed action plans in three states, have initiated efforts in three more, and expect to select two more states for 2010.
By working with state program managers, recognized national experts in land use, land conservation, and water quality protection, the project aims to help states work across political and programmatic boundaries to better align planning, economic development, regulation and conservation to protect drinking water sources at the local and watershed levels. Protecting drinking water sources through better land use management requires strong collaboration among state agencies and between all levels of government and concerned stakeholders. Collaboration maximizes the effectiveness of initiatives led by land use planners, water utilities, watershed associations, government officials, conservationists, farmers and foresters.
State programs interact to shape local choices in complicated ways. New data is helping us understand how land use and development choices affect the quality of ground and surface water sources, making it clear that well-intentioned policies can be working at cross-purposes. One program or agency may be trying to reward local source water protection efforts while another is creating incentives for incompatible uses. At the same time, new technologies are emerging that allow program managers to readily share important geographic data with colleagues and the public, while newly proven financing and policy strategies are emerging to support government and individual efforts to do the right thing. This program draws on this new knowledge and technology to achieve more effective collaboration between public and private stakeholders and better congruence between various state policies to enhance drinking water source water protection.
Benefits to states include:
- Consultations with experts on innovative practices from around the country.
- Exposure to hand-picked examples and strategies from other states.
- Recommendations based on state-specific program reviews.
- Strategies for improving funding for water protection.
- A support network-both within and outside of government-for implementation.
- A modest amount of financial support to initiate implementation activities.
States chosen for 2008 Source Water Protection Project
States chosen for 2009 Source Water Protection Project
Apply for 2010 Source Water Protection Project