New York’s Drinking Water Source Protection Program

In 2022, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Department of Health (DOH) launched an initiative to assist municipalities with assessing and supporting drinking water source protection programs.

The Drinking Water Source Protection Program (DWSP2) can benefit a community by:

1. Protecting public health
2. Preventing drinking water treatment costs by safeguarding water supply sources
3. Increasing the community’s confidence in the safety of public drinking water

The program is flexible enough to allow each municipality to implement a custom plan to protect drinking water sources for their communities, as sources and conditions vary from place to place. To support those efforts, the state also offers technical assistance (TA) providers to help interested municipalities create a plan.

Basic steps to developing a drinking water source protection plan include:

1. Forming a stakeholder group
2. Performing an inventory of drinking water sources and potential causes of contamination
3. Establishing critical areas to be protected
4. Creating a timeline for implementation

In order to receive assistance from the DWSP2, an application must be submitted to the DEC.

DEC has released a DWSP2 framework to provide more information and help communities develop drinking water source protection plans. This framework is designed to outline the content of the DWSP2 and assist a municipality in creating a plan unique to its community.

Walden assists municipality in developing a DWSP2

Walden was retained by a municipal village in the Hudson Valley to be a part of the village’s stakeholder group, which was formed to help develop the community’s unique drinking water source protection plan.

The village also partnered with the Hudson Valley Regional Planning Council, a free state TA provider, and other consultants to aid in advancing the DWSP2 plan.

One of the first considerations when developing a DWSP2 for a municipality is to recognize and address the crossover between municipal boundaries. In this case, several entities share the same water resources, including the village, a nearby town, and a local university. To ensure all affected parties were accounted for, the town and the university were both represented with a position in the stakeholder group.

The village decided to create two stakeholder groups, which facilitated enhanced communication among members and the community. One group, the executive committee, met monthly for half an hour, while the other met monthly for one to one and a half hours. Some members were involved in both groups. Together, these groups came up with strategic ideas to meet the community’s drinking water needs.

What did the stakeholder groups accomplish?

The stakeholders were excited at the level of community involvement and the ability to help residents learn more about water and wastewater sources. Walden concluded that the best way to implement a successful DWSP2 was to involve a TA provider and have a stakeholder group with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Implementing two stakeholder groups working alongside each other was also valuable.

The benefits of this program are that the community’s drinking water is better protected, residents are engaged and learn useful information, there is now a clear path for implementation of the plan, and community involvement regarding drinking water has increased.

The DWSP2 plan should be included in existing municipal plans so it does not become a standalone initiative. If a DWSP2 plan is attached to other priority efforts, it will be more likely to succeed.

One positive outcome of this process, noted by the DEC, was that the drinking water in question is more protected than the community was originally aware of. Mapping revealed that surface water runoff was diverted away from drinking water reservoirs, lessening the chance of contamination. Another outcome of this process was that the stakeholder group members were able to tour the water treatment plant, which enabled the stakeholder group members to have a better understanding of how their water is treated and delivered.

The DEC advocates for this program, and Walden can help your community apply. For more information, contact us today at 516-980-5508.