Partnerships to protect the Sparta Aquifer

EPA headquarters has funded Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst, International City/County Management Association (ICMA), National Association of Counties (NACO), National Center for Small Communities (NCSC), and the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) to coordinate source water protection activities nationally. These national organizations will focus their efforts to help protect the Sparta Aquifer, a drinking water source for communities in Arkansas and Louisiana. These contributions will enhance the Sparta Source Water Protection Education Program, also funded by U.S. EPA. The combination of different approaches will build a strong foundation of protection for this important aquifer.

This cooperative effort will demonstrate how national organizations can provide communities with resources to enhance source water protection efforts. It will also show how communities can combine resources into a coordinated package to better protect their drinking water. The Sparta Project is a valuable model because communities need to plan a set of interrelated activities to build multiple barriers to protect public drinking supplies. By definition, source water protection programs involve different steps to prevent contamination and reduce the need for treatment of drinking water supplies. These steps include public education, protective land use planning and zoning, voluntary prevention efforts, and emergency planning.

With leadership from the Louisiana and Arkansas Extension Services, this project will implement twelve wellhead protection programs, conduct 200 farm and home assessments using Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst, involve 5000 youth through Project WET/Project Learning Tree, and secure Groundwater Guardian designation for several parishes.

1. Farm*A*Syst, www.uwex.edu/farmasyst, and Home*A*Syst, www.uwex.edu/homeasyst, will provide the following materials to enhance community capacity to support individual actions that protect drinking water:
• An informational brochure and checklist entitled Drinking Water Protection Begins at Home, intended to educate farmers and non-farmers about individual actions that protect public drinking water supplies.
  
  • English version
  • Low resolution Spanish version (small file--for viewing on web or low quality printing)
  • High resolution Spanish version (large file--for high quality printing)
• Four press releases covering septic systems, lawn and garden care, well maintenance, and spring cleaning, designed to educate urban and rural residents about activities to protect drinking water on their property and in neighboring communities.
• Two press releases covering on-farm pesticide use and manure management, designed to educate farmers about the protection of drinking water on their properties and in neighboring communities.
2. International City/County Management Association (ICMA), www.icma.org, will develop and evaluate a media package designed to raise community awareness and involvement, and test strategies to help communities.
3. National Association of Counties (NACO), www.naco.org, will increase the capacity of county officials to respond to source protection concerns through an information kit, best practice guide, and specialized training.
4. National Center for Small Communities, www.natat.org/ncsc/, will provide a guidebook From Assessment to Action to help small town and rural decision-makers understand and use resources and funding to protect critical public drinking water supplies. The guide will address three key areas needed to develop a comprehensive water protection plan:
   • understanding state source water assessments
   • refining initial assessments to meet local needs
   • selecting tools and strategies for local protection efforts
5. National Rural Water Association (NRWA), www.nrwa.org, will develop a template for contingency planning. The template will be used by communities to develop a contingency plan for their community in the event of a loss of their current drinking water source.

1. Groundwater Guardians, www.groundwater.org supports and recognizes communities for activities that enhance groundwater awareness and protection.
2. Project WET, www.montana.edu/wwwwet promotes awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources by providing classroom-ready teaching aids and establishing state and internationally-sponsored Project WET programs.
3. Project Learning Tree, www.plt.org helps educators of students in pre-K through grade 12 increase students' awareness and knowledge of the natural and built environment, their place within it, and their responsibility for it.