Reps kick off drinking water program in meeting at city hall
Representatives from Department of Environmental Quality kicked off the Drinking Water Protection Program in Webster Parish Thursday with a meeting at Minden City Hall.
Mary Gentry and Tiffani Cravens of DEQ's Business Community Outreach & Incentives Division spoke to a group of citizens, city employees and city and parish officials about the program and the importance of protecting drinking water.
"A lot of us just don't think about where our drinking water comes from," Gentry said. "Well, here in Webster Parish we have quite a few water supply systems and they all get their water from groundwater.
"Groundwater comes from three major aquifers here in the north part of the state – the Sparta Aquifer, the Corrizo-Wilcox Aquifer and the Terrace Aquifer.," he said.
Aquifers are layers of gravel or other water permeable substances where water can travel underground. The aquifer layers in Louisiana are sloped to the south and water in them tends to move that direction.
According to Gentry, contaminants can enter aquifers from the surface, contaminating drinking water. The suction of well pumps can draw contaminants from a distance and even upstream.
Contaminants take many different forms and come from many different sources. Any kind of chemical product, whether for home, agricultural or industrial use, can potentially contaminate ground water. Contaminants can come from businesses, farms, parking lots, homes, or many other sources.
According to Gentry, one gallon of oil or gasoline can contaminate one billion gallons of ground water. Four hundred and fifty billion gallons of water are used in the U.S. daily. Of that, most is untreated and used for irrigation and industry. Thirty-five billion is treated every day, of which 1.25 billion is used for drinking.
The program seeks to inform and involve the public and local government in four ways:
n Establish a Drinking Water Protection Committee composed of volunteers from the parish. The committee will work with local DWPs to develop and implement drinking water protection activities.
n Develop contingency plans to deal with potential losses of normal water supplies.
n Provide public education through the use of brochures, videos, highway signs, public service announcements and other materials. Some Drinking Water Protection Program signs have already been placed around the parish to indicate protected areas. The signs are placed within one mile of a public drinking water source.
n Develop and implement zoning and ordinances restricting common sources of contamination being located too close to drinking water sources. Webster has already adopted a similar ordinance.
"Because Webster Parish has already adopted the ordinance you all are light years ahead," Gentry said. "I want to congratulate you on that. That is a wonderful step toward protecting your drinking water."
DEQ is seeking volunteers to serve on the committee. To learn more, request program materials or volunteer for the committee contact the Drinking Water Protection team at 225-219-3510. To report suspected contamination or other environmental issues contact DEQ Customer Service Center at 866-869-5337.
