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NCSU Department of Biological and Agriclutural Engineering North Carolina Cooperative Extension
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Protecting Drinking Water in N.C.

Photo of Jean Spooner

Dr. Karen Hall
Extension Assistant Professor
Biological & Agricultural Engineering
Voice: (919) 515-8242
Fax: (919) 515-6772
E-mail: karen_hall@ncsu.edu

Department Information
Drinking Water

Water Quality Publications

NCSU Water Quality Group

Watershed Education for Communities and Officials

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Did you know?

Drinking water in the United States is among the safest in the world.

Making sure our drinking water is safe is the law in the United States (Safe Drinking Water Act).

All but 1% of the earth's drinking water has some level of contaminant in it.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets the standards for maximum contaminant levels in drinking water assuring its safety for a vast amount of people.

Additional federal laws protect drinking water by regulating surface and groundwater pollution with compliance for hazardous waste disposal and waste water discharges.

85% of Americans receive drinking water from municipal or privately owned utilities. These utilities must comply with EPA drinking water standards. Some states require even stricter standards for operation of a utility.

15% of the Americans with their own sources of drinking water, such as wells, cisterns, and springs, are responsible for protecting the quality of their supply.

In the United States, water utilities treat nearly 38 billion gallons of water every day.

Regular sampling, monitoring and analysis of treated water must be performed by utilities.

58% of people worry about the safety of drinking water. State health departments make available testing and monitoring results.

Americans drink more than one billion glasses of tap water per day.

96% of the earth's fresh water is stored under the ground in aquifers more than on the earth’s surface.

Aquifers, particularly those close to the surface, are often connected with surface water systems.

Not all aquifers can be renewed, today some taped deep aquifers will never be replenish. Identifying and protecting deep aquifers is vital.

extension personnel employing ttechniques to
NC Extension personnel secure a stream bed to prevent sediment run-off. New ideas, equipment and hard work help keep streams in good condition.

Workshops for contractors

Water Quality & Your Drinking Water...

drinking fountain with water spurting out

Protecting water sources are essential to providing safe drinking water for North Carolina. Water sources exist in watersheds consisting of lakes, reservoirs, rivers, aquifers and springs. It's water from these sources that supply our water treatment facilities and wells. Therefore, the quality of your

Photo shows tow drain side by side discharging into a water way
Fresh water pollution is mostly
caused by untreated discharges
or improperly treated waste water,
industrial effluent dumping, and
sediment/ pesticide run-off from
agricultural fields.

Industry, agriculture and population growth have increased the use of industrial and household chemicals/ fertilizers and pesticides these all have adverse impacts on fresh water sources. Additionally, animal manure, dumping, littering and acid rain are just a few more of the many ways that water becomes polluted.

U. S. water supplies are protected by federal law (Clean Water Act). All business, industries, municipalities etc. must obey these laws. Specific regulations apply to each of these entities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the agency that sets the standards for controlling contaminants in water that could pose a risk to the public drinking water supply.

traing class grouped around a lagoon getting a lesson from an extension agent.
In North Carolina workers can
receive training in ways to handle
waste water sprayed on agri-
cultural lands as fertilizer.

When waterways and ground water become polluted and derogated the bacteria and contaminants build to unsatisfactory levels. This condition makes individual waterways, aquifers and springs either unsuitable for use or very expensive for utilities to treat and return to safe drinking water levels. The treatment of high levels of bacteria and contaminants increases costs because more energy and chemical treatments are needed. Therefore, when we begin with a pristine water source our drinking water is cleaner, cost less to supply and leaves more time and opportunity to provide more people with drinking water.

measuring water level in an under street drain.
What flows through this drain
eventually ends up in your
watershed. Run-off comes from
streets containing motor oils,
lawn chemicals, litter, pet waste
and more.

Although it's a fact of nature that the cleanest waters have some levels of contaminants in them these contaminants don't harm the general public but may cause problems for immune compromised individuals. Our U.S. municipal and private water utilities follow EPA drinking water standards which are among the best in the world. These standards do a great deal to assure the quality of our water supplies but they don't do the job of supplying water. It's the job of the local water utilities, state agencies, local health departments and a knowledgeable public working collectively to protect their watersheds which ensure the highest quality drinking water.

Even though human pollution is the major factor affecting our water supply there are others. When nature is overwhelmed by a weather situations like, excessive flooding or when municipal systems temporally fail instances do occur that can cause contaminants to reach levels that may make people sick. In both cases the public is notified as soon as possible by local health departments. For people who choose to use a well these notifications may or may not be useful.

farmer pulling open a well head.
A farmer pulls open a
well head for inspection.

In the U.S.10% of the public use wells, cisterns or springs for drinking water and are responsible for assuring the quality of it. There is little regulatory control over individual water supplies in rural areas and over site only happens during well development or when property transfers. Well owners must maintain and test regularly.

With the influx of new people to North Carolina, education about potential pollution problems and how to protect watersheds are essential. State agencies like the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) and N. C. Division of Water Quality are the networks that educate the public and industry about issues.

Urban homeowners, landscapers, and rental managers need to know about the proper use of chemicals to avoid excessive runoff into our waterways. Many use too much pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals to obtain lawn results. Uninformed farm owners and untrained farm workers may not understand the consequences of the improper use of chemicals, pesticides or other farming practices.

extension person showing a tray of insects found in a stream.
An Extension associate shows
people varied insects found
living near streams.

The improper use of chemicals, pesticides and herbicides like all types of pollution not only affect drinking water, but the health of ecosystems which are so vital to watershed health. Clean waterways protect children, and adults that swim in them and pets and animals that may be drinking directly form a waterway.

Citizens can do a lot to protect local water sources by learning about and assisting in the protection of their watershed. The things people can do aren't hard they are just a matter of changing bad habits. Citizens can (1.) properly select the safest lawn fertilizers, pesticides, and other home chemicals that end up in storm drains hence, the watershed. (2.) remove litter and grass clippings from curbs to assure street drains are unblocked. (3.) properly dispose of pet waste, motor oil household chemicals, and garbage. (4.) monitor local water utilities and read and ask question (5.) don't litter and pick-up litter — Its obvious our convenience food wraps, plastic bottles and bags etc. don't degrade on the curbside (recycle them). (6.) promptly report street underground utility events, sewage backups, burst pipes, truck spills, and illegal dumping. (7.) join or financially support a local citizen group that is working to protect waters (8.) educate yourself and your children about the environment and develop good environmental habits.

ss
Extension personnel explain the latest
best management practices to contractors
who will work in and around water ways.

Businesses, farms and municipalities must follow all Clean Water Act rules and regulations pertaining to their type of operation. They are responsible for educating, training, and enforcing workers to follow proper procedures that ensure compliance. Business should evaluate partners and sub-contractors to be sure they also comply with water regulations.

When citizens fully realize the consequences of pollution in their watersheds they begin to understand how directly it can affect their visual and pleasurable surroundings, health, property values, and their pocketbook. The same is true for a successful business because they depend on clean water for operations and a quality environment to attract good workers. When these things become apparent then people and business tend to become good stewards of the environment. The knowledge and action of people can greatly reduce the degradation in waters and make even greater improvements to drinking water quality.

Map drawing of North Carolina watershedsLearn more...

North Carolina Information

  • N. C. Public Water Supply
  • www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/nc.htm
  • North Carolina Drinking Water
  • http://water.epa.gov/drink/local/nc.cfm
  • North Carolina Watershed
    http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/state.cfm?statepostal=NC
  • N. C. Division of Water Quality "Water Know"
    http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/home/wyk
  • Safe Drinking Water Guide (NC Groundwater)
    www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/pws/Publications/NTNCguide.pdf
  • USGS Water Quality Watch - N.C.
  • http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/wqwatch/index.php?state=nc&dt=00060&c=map
  • North Carolina Division of Water Quality
    http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq
  • North Carolina Public Water Supply Section
    www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/pws/
  • N. C. Division of Water Quality Well Water
    http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/aps/gwpro/outreach

EPA Water Resources and more...

  • EPA Office of Water
    www.epa.gov/ow/
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- Drinking Water
    www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/
  • EPA Drinking Water
    http://water.epa.gov/drink/index.cfm
  • EPA FQA about tap water
    www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/faq.html
  • Protecting your water supply from natural disasters like floods
    www.epa.gov/safewater/emergency/
  • USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program
  • www.scienceeducation.gov/search/apachesolr_search/Engineering
  • Alabama State Water Program - FQA's about Drinking Water
    www.aces.edu/waterquality/faq/faq_03.htm

Rural Assistance

  • Assistance for farmers (Farm*A*Syst) and homeowners (Home*A*Syst)
    http://www.wisc.edu/farmasyst/
  • USDA Rural Development - Water & Environment
    www.usda.gov/rus/water/
  • National Environmental Services Center- Drinking water
    http://nesc.wvu.edu/drinkingwater.cfm
  • EPA Information about private drinking water wells
    www.epa.gov/safewater/privatewells/index2.html
  • Mid-Alantic Water Program
  • http://www.mawaterquality.org/
  • Crop Protection Association -well water safe
    http://www.nccropprotection.org/FactSheets/Well%20Water%20safety.pdf

Organizations

  • Water Quality Association
    /www.wqa.org/
  • National Water Program
    www.usawaterquality.org/
  • The Groundwater Foundation
    www.groundwater.org/
  • Water Systems Council -Wells
    www.watersystemscouncil.org/
  • DrinkTap
    www.drinktap.org/
  • National Ground Water Association
    http://www.ngwa.org/
  • Wellowner.org
    http://www.wellowner.org/