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The Cost of Clean: Questions & Answers
What do wastewater treatment plants do?
What are the most common water quality problems or impairments & where do they come from?
What is the federal Clean Water Act?
What does the term "publicly owned treatment works" include?
What are nonpoint sources of water pollution?
Does EPA regulate nonpoint sources?
What are wet weather sources?
Is clean water infrastructure a good investment?
How have federal clean water requirements for local governments changed?
What clean water infrastructure needs did EPA last report?

Report questions safety of bottled water

How Water Wells Are Drilled

Equipment Used in a Water Well

Protect & Conserve Groundwater

Why Reforest Pennsylvania's Streamsides?

What is a Streamside Forest or Riparian Forest Buffer?

How Can I Help Restore and Protect Streamside Buffers?

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Report questions safety of bottled water

Bottled water sold in the United States "is not necessarily cleaner or safer than most tap water", according to a widely publicized report released this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Based on four years of testing more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water, the NRDC report concludes that "bottled water regulations are inadequate to assure consumers of either purity or safety." NRDC specifically challenges Food and Drug Administration rules for exempting products bottled and sold within the same state and for being "less rigorous" than safety standards for tap water. The group calls for a penny-per-bottle fee to fund state and federal testing, regulatory and enforcement programs.

FDA defended its rules and said bottled water "poses no significant public health risk and is, therefore, safe to consume." NSF International, which certifies the safety of hundreds of brands each year, said NRDC's concerns "are unfounded". The International Bottled Water Association accused NRDC of "trying to scare consumers", asserting that under the past 37 years of FDA oversight, there have been no confirmed illnesses linked to bottled water. AWWA called on FDA to improve its bottled water standards to match those for tap water, claiming the NRDC study "shows that current measures to ensure bottled water is as safe as tap water are not adequate."

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How Water Wells Are Drilled

	Water well drilling machines are used to make an "engineered hole" through the soil and rock layers to reach groundwater.
	The cost of a modern drilling machine is about $500,000!
	Not all water wells are drilled the same way, but rotary drilling is the most common method.
	6,000 New water wells are drilled in America every week.
	There are more than 15 million wells in use in America for individual homes and farms.
	Groundwater is the source of daily drinking water for nearly 150 million Americans.
	There are still nearly one million old-fashioned "dug wells" in use. These are very difficult to keep free from water quality problems. Deep drilled wells are much more reliable and provide safer drinking water.

Copyright American Ground Water Trust

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Equipment Used in a Water Well

	Casing is put in the well to stop the hole from collapsing and to prevent the risk of surface water getting into the well.
	A seal of "grout" is often placed between the casing and the drilled hole to stop any surface water moving down outside the casing.
	The most common well pumps in use are called "submersible". They are powered by electricity and push the water up to the surface.
	In any area where there is frost, the water pipe comes from the well through a pitless adapter below ground level. In warmer climates there is no need to use a pitless adapter; the water pipe can come out of the top of the well.
	Water should drain away from the well head and the well cap should be tightly sealed.

Copyright American Ground Water Trust

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Protect & Conserve Groundwater

	In a home with a private well, it is the home owner's responsibility to test the water once a year.
	Most wells do not require chemicals for treatment because the water moves straight from the rocks via the well into the house.
	If a home does use conditioning equipment, for example to reduce iron or hardness, the system should be kept in good working order.
	It makes sense to conserve water, whether your home is on a well or a public system, and to ensure that no harmful chemicals are disposed of down the drain.
	There are more acres of garden lawn in America than any other crop! To protect groundwater, home owners should go easy on using lawn chemicals and pesticides.
	Homes with a well and a public supply must never connect the two systems.

Copyright American Ground Water Trust

Reproduced courtesy of the American Ground Water Trust - agwt.org

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Why Reforest Pennsylvania's Streamsides?

Although 63 percent of Pennsylvania is covered by forest, today's mature woods are not evenly distributed. Most of the forests have vanished in agricultural areas and rapidly developing urban centers, particularly in southcentral and southeastern Pennsylvania.

Trees that once hugged the shores of streams and rivers in these areas are no longer present to filter surface runoff and, in many landscapes, groundwater flow. Riparian forests have an ability to filter water that is often comparable to wetlands. They provide shade, temperature control and food for many aquatic and terrestrial species of wildlife. As a result, streamside forests are heralded as a way to partially mitigate the loss of forest over much of the remaining landscape. Streamside areas are the link between land and water, and trees are a vital component of a healthy stream ecosystem.

In Pennsylvania, the USDA Forest Service estimates that over one-third of the streams and rivers have had their riparian areas converted or degraded. In the Chesapeake Bay basin, as much as 60 percent of the streamside forests have removed or severely impaired. Within the Susquehanna River basin, about 36 percent of the streams do not have forest buffers, a number that rises to 50 percent in the lower Susquehanna basin.

Reproduced courtesy of and developed by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay under a grant from the Pennsylvania Nonpoint Source Management Program, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Funding was provided by DEP through Section 319 of the Federal Clean Water Act administered by the Environmental Protection Agency - www.dep.state.pa.us/See&hear/streamreleaf/Stream_Releaf.htm.

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What is a Streamside Forest or Riparian Forest Buffer?

A riparian buffer is an area of vegetation that is maintained along the shore of a water body to protect stream channels and banks. Buffers can reduce the pollutants entering a stream, lake or pond by trapping, filtering and converting sediments, nutrients and other chemicals in runoff from surrounding lands.

Forested riparian buffers (or streamside forests) are riparian buffers with a functional forest ecosystem. Forested buffers are the most beneficial type of buffer because they provide water quality and ecological benefits, including food, cover and protection from temperature changes for fish and wildlife.

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How Can I Help Restore and Protect Streamside Buffers?

**If you are a landowner:**
	Plant native species of trees and shrubs.
	Stop mowing to the streams edge.
	Join your local watershed conservation organizations.
	Protect buffers through conservation easements.

**If you are a farmer:**
	Fence streams.
	Enroll buffers in set aside programs.
	Partner with local watershed and sporting organizations.
	Consider alternatives to cropping that also provide economic returns while preserving buffers.

**If you are a developer:**
	Avoid removing streamside trees and shrubs.
	Incorporate conservation into your subdivision designs.

**If you help run a business or industry:**
	Plant native species of trees and shrubs.
	Consider sponsoring a school or community organization that wants to plant trees.
	Consider options for limiting business activities that impact buffers.

**If you belong to a conservation or volunteer organization:**
	Plant native species of trees along streams.
	Partner with agricultural landowners and municipalities.
	Organize volunteers and work parties to help maintain buffers.

**If you are a municipal official:**
	Adopt zoning that protects and improves stream corridors.
	Support landowners who protect their buffers.
	Partner with neighboring municipalities to promote consistent ordinances.
	Create recreational greenways.

**If you are a student or teacher:**
	(Colleges / Universities) - Conduct research to help further define buffer values and maintenance techniques.
	Incorporate buffer protection activities into lesson plans.
	Establish a buffer on school premises if you have a stream or pond.

**If you work for a regional, state or federal agency:**
	Develop new information and act as a clearinghouse for existing information.
	Develop guidelines for establishing and maintaining buffers, and provide technical assistance.
	Establish incentives for participation.

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What do wastewater treatment plants do?

Wastewater treatment plants, or publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), treat domestic and industrial sewage to levels that ensure public health and the biological integrity of the waters that receive discharges from these facilities. The end product is highly treated water discharged to water bodies and biosolids, both of which must meet stringent federal standards.

Reproduced courtesy from the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) - www.amsa-cleanwater.org. The Cost of Clean is also available on AMSA's web site or by contacting AMSA's National Office at (202) 833-AMSA.

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What are the most common water quality problems or impairments, and where do they come from?

Water quality impairments, come in the form of pollution discharged to streams or the destruction of aquatic life habitat. Sedimentation, excess nutrients, and bacteria most commonly impair rivers and streams, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) national survey of water quality, which was reported to Congress last year. Before the Clean Water Act (CWA), pollution problems were most often associated with "point sources," discharges from heavy industrial facilities and sewage treatment plants. But after almost 30 years of CWA implementation, pollution from these sources is under control. Now, new water quality challenges confront the country. For instance, municipal and industrial stormwater runoff and concentrated animal feeding operations must now meet tough new standards. And in the future, federal, state, and local governments will be turning their attention to difficult-to-control "nonpoint source" water pollution in urban and rural areas caused by runoff from city streets, agricultural fields, timber harvests, road building, pastures or runoff from other rural lands.

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What is the federal Clean Water Act?

Federal Water Pollution Control Act, establishes a national program to restore and maintain the quality of the nation's waters. Point sources of pollution are regulated under the Act while state programs for nonpoint sources are subject to federal funding and technical assistance. The CWA authorized states to establish water quality standards, subject to federal review and approval, to protect public health or welfare and improve the quality of the water. These standards are translated into permit limits, which are issued to municipal and industrial dischargers. Under the CWA, discharges to waters of the United States are illegal without these permits, which ensure that the wastewater discharges present no risk to human health and the environment.

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What does the term "publicly owned treatment works" include?

Under the federal Clean Water Act, POTWs are not just the wastewater treatment plants themselves. They include a wide array of other infrastructure necessary for collecting, tansporting and treating wastewater containing domestic or sanitary sewage and sludge or biosolids resulting from the wastewater treatment process. While the term "clean water infrastructure" includes facilities to control combined sewer overflows (CSOS) from combined sanitary and storm sewer systems and separate sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), these facilities are not considered as POTWS. Both CSOs and SSOs result from storm events, which cause high volumes of water that overflows from older sewage collections systems.

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What are nonpoint sources of water pollution?

Nonpoint sources of water pollution, also called polluted runoff, result from rainfall that runs off the land and into waterbodies. This runoff can carry with it sediments, nutrients, bacteria, chemicals or metals. Nonpoint sources are not conveyed by a pipe and, therefore, are not strictly regulated by CWA discharge permits. Rather, they are diffuse, difficult to control sources of water pollution that run off farmland, pastures, construction sites, parking lots or timberland. Nonpoint source pollution can be diminished by land management practices such as wetlands preservation and construction; careful application of fertilizer and manure to crops; street sweeping; and soil erosion controls.

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Does EPA regulate nonpoint sources?

The Clean Water Act does not authorize EPA to directly regulate nonpoint sources of pollution in rural or urban areas through the use of discharge permits. The regulation of nonpoint source pollution is left to state and local governments under state law. The primary federal approaches to nonpoint sources are cost sharing and technical assistance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and through EPA-funded state nonpoint programs under section 319 of the CWA. The present Administration's 1995 CWA reauthorization proposals sought legislation for EPA to have backup authority to regulate nonpoint sources where states fail to act.

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What are wet weather sources?

Generally, wet weather sources such as CSOS, SSOS, stormwater systems and nonpoint sources are episodic, short-term discharges generated by rainstorm events. CSOS, SSOs and storrnwater can be controlled by transport or treatment facilities, best management practices (BWs) or a combination of both. Nonpoint sources in rural areas can be controlled by the implementation of BWs such as improved, "no-tillage" practices on agriculture land; buffer strips to prevent polluted runoff and erosion; or wetlands construction.

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Is clean water infrastructure a good investment?

Clean water infrastructure is a necessary public health and environmental investment, and a sound economic investment. Construction of wastewater facilities is among the highest generators ofjobs for all infrastructure categories. Each $1 billion in sewer improvements generates over 57,000 direct and indirect jobs. By comparison, total job creation by highway and road construction is estimated to be approximately 34,000, for each $1 billion. In addition to public health and environmental benefits, wastewater facilities provide major contributions to public and private productivity. Research indicates that public investments in these facilities improve: competitiveness for American industry; private profitability, and wages, which in turn yield higher tax revenues to governments.

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How have federal clean water requirements for local governments changed?

Initially, EPA required local governments with POTWs to construct and implement "secondary treatment," which is defined as the best available control technology. This step was costly, but with significant levels of federal grant funding, it resulted in a major nationwide improvement in wastewater treatment and water quality. Over the past decade, regulatory requirements expanded from secondary sewage treatment, to compliance with water quality based treatment requirements at sewage treatment plants; control of CSOs and then SSOs; implementation of BMPs and other controls for stormwater systems to comply with NPDES permits established for stormwater facilities under the 1987 CWA amendments.

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What clean water infrastructure needs did EPA last report?

EPA's 1996 Needs Survey reported $139.5 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs based on eligible costs under the CWA. On March 18, 1999, however, EPA released preliminary, revised estimates that indicate $199.6 billion in wastewater needs over 20 years. This recent revision substituted $81.9 billion in SSOs reported by the EPA Sewer System Overflow Study for $10.3 billion in previously reported sewer infiltration and inflow correction estimated needs. The Agency currently reports on the following needs: $44.0 billion for remaining secondary treatment and advanced sewers; $44.7 billion for CSOs; and 7.4 billion for stormwater.