Drinking Water Protection Program 

Drinking Water Protection (DWP) program works to ensure all Kansas communities have a source of clean, healthy, affordable drinking water by planning and implementing strategies to prevent and mitigate contamination. Public Water Supply (PWS) systems that show trends of increased nitrate or occasionally violate the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) are the focus of the DWP program. Through the DWP program, an assessment is undergone to determine the area and potential sources of nitrates and other contaminants of concern. Once the sources are better understood, KDHE aids the PWS in developing a local leadership team to begin planning strategies to mitigate and protect the source water. Financial resources are available for communities to assess, plan, and implement strategies to protect their drinking water source.

The Process

• Drinking Water Assessment Performed
• PWS meeting to discuss assessment findings with community leadership
• Development of Local Leadership Team
• Plan Development
• Implementation/Monitoring

Source Water Assessments

The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act required each state to develop a Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP). Additionally, each state was required to develop a Source Water Assessment (SWA) for each public water supply that treats and distributes raw source water. In Kansas, approximately 763 public water supplies completed SWAs. The SWA included the following: delineation of the source water assessment area; inventory of potential contaminant sources; and susceptibility analysis.   

Contact the DWP Program Coordinator for information on archived source water protection assessments completed as part of the 1996 amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act.   For more information, visit the U.S. EPA's Source Water Protection website.