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Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP)
By Timothy J. Gobreski
Eastern Pennsylvania Director, Clean Water Action
s a Watersheds.tv visitor you probably have a favorite river or stream
near you. Now, imagine you are on the banks of that stream and you
have to dip a cup into that stream and drink that water. Not too appealing?
Ok. Let’s say that before you drink your cup of stream water,
you can filter and treat it to get rid of the contaminants before
you splash it down your gullet. Of the stuff floating around, some
of it you know what it is, and where it came from. You may know, for
instance that the brown colored sediment came from that eroded bank.
But what else is there? Are there chemicals in that water you can’t
see? What are they? How did they get there? Is there anything you
can do to find out about them before you drink them? What can you
do to prevent them from getting in there in the first place?
 elcome
to your local version the Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP).
This fantastic program came about because dedicated citizens pressed
Congress to strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1996. Prior
to these strengthening amendments, people concerned with drinking
water quality focused mainly on how to remove the bad stuff they found
in their drinking water. The SWAP takes a step back and aims to eliminate
the bad stuff before it gets in. This means they have to figure out
what’s getting in the water and how to keep it out to begin
with. Local watershed groups and concerned citizens come in very handy
for this.
 ach
state is responsible for conducting its own Source Water Assessments,
and frankly, some SWAPs are better than others. A good SWAP will examine
all the possible sources of water contamination in a watershed and
suggest ways to reduce the threats. SWAPS are required to have public
meetings so regular folks like us can influence the results. The best
SWAPs use the help and knowledge of local watershed groups and concerned
citizens, because it’s the people who live and work in a watershed
that know best where the problems and polluters are in the watershed.
But identifying the problems is only the first step.
atershed
groups can play a huge role in developing workable solutions to protecting
rivers, streams and creeks. They can also educate others in the area
to help make the solutions work. The fact of the matter is that no
body of water can be entirely protected by one group of people. Policy
makers need the expertise of local people to make an accurate assessment
of the watershed, and local people need to make sure the policy makers
adopt and implement the solutions that lead to cleaner, healthier
waterways.
 o,
if you hear about a SWAP in your watershed — get involved. It’s
a great opportunity to put your knowledge about your watershed to
good use. The river you protect could be the water you drink.
Related links:
 Learn
more about SWAPs from the EPA.
Find out about SWAPs in your state.
The League
of Women Voters Education Fund has an excellent site that focuses
on building public participation in SWAPs.
The Environmental
Health Center and National Safety Council has a site that will
answer more of your questions about SWAPs and tell you how to get
involved
See past topics of National Watersheds here!
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