The Department of Environmental Protection recognized the Honey Brook Borough Water Authority this week for its voluntary efforts to become the first water authority in Chester County to have an approved wellhead protection plan.

John Hines, acting director of the DEP’s Bureau of Watershed Management, noted the importance of this benchmark.

“Honey Brook's effort is a shining example of what can be done when community leaders commit to developing a common sense approach to drinking water protection,” said Hines. “This effort provides safeguards to protect our communities, our citizens and our future.”

Source water protection programs are locally designed, voluntary efforts to protect drinking water sources used by public water systems. The programs may take the form of watershed protection for surface water sources, wellhead protection for groundwater sources, or a combination of approaches.

The Honey Brook plan was developed through the cooperation of the water authority, Honey Brook Township, and local citizens. Technical assistance to the steering committee was provided by the Pennsylvania Rural Water Association, Chester County Conservation District, Chester County Water Resources Authority, Brandywine Valley Association, DEP and the engineering firm of Spotts, Stevens & McCoy Inc.

The plan recommended protecting the authority’s wells through regulatory options, including a zoning ordinance, permitting, storm water drainage requirements, and non-regulatory options such as easements and public education.

Most significantly, the township adopted an ordinance in October that established wellhead protection districts. Controls on subdivisions, new requirements on storm water drainage, and limitations or prohibitions on land uses will be established within those districts.

The development and implementation of a wellhead protection program generally takes several years to plan and obtain DEP approval.

With the addition of the Honey Brook system, which was approved in 2005 and implemented in 2007, there are now five approved programs in the southeast region. Each plan has been tailored to its system’s resources and constraints.

For more information about protecting drinking water, visit DEP’s Source Water webpage.

4/4/2008