Wellhead protection activities continue to increase in the Commonwealth. While there has not been a stampede to graduate from assessing a public water supply’s contamination susceptibility to implementing measurable protection activities, there continues to be interest at the local level in developing strategies to protect ground water resources. These local efforts are often buoyed by technical support from Virginia Department of Health (VDH) field office staff, the VDH contract with Olver Inc. to assist small systems in priority areas, or grants issued directly to municipalities through the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in conjunction with VDH.
The 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) expanded protection concepts from ground water based public water supply systems to all sources of water serving public water supply systems, including surface water. The 1996 amendments also required assessments to evaluate every public water supply system’s vulnerability or susceptibility to contamination. These mandatory assessments were supported with dedicated funding from the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan (DWSRF) set asides; assessments were completed by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Information gained through the assessments was shared with system owners and consumers. Federal and State officials were hopeful these assessments and susceptibility determinations would be the foundation for protection programs.
Opportunities to fund wellhead protection activities:
Following Federal approval of the State’s Voluntary Wellhead Protection Plan, DEQ and VDH worked together to issue a “Request for Proposals” from local governments to implement wellhead protection. Click on “Past Awards” to see fund distribution and project descriptions. Notice of future “Request for Proposals” can be found on this webpage.
Funding Opportunities for Wellhead Protection 
At this time there are no competitive funding opportunities. Questions may be directed to Mary Ann Massie at 804.698.4042.
For information on the Virginia Department of Health’s Source Water Assessment Susceptibility Results please visit the VDH Office of Drinking Water at http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/ODW/SourceWaterAssessmentProgram.htm.