Mission and History of the Ground Water Protection Steering Committee

The Ground Water Protection Steering Committee is an inter-agency advisory committee formed to stimulate, strengthen, and coordinate ground water protection activities in Virginia. Because of the importance of ground water as a source of water and as a natural resource to Virginia residents, businesses, and industries, the Steering Committee serves an important role in addressing the needs of various ground water users. The Steering Committee, founded in 1986, now includes 10 agencies (see "Members").

Each year since 1988 the Steering Committee has published an Annual Report, entitled Ground Water Protection in Virginia. These reports serve two objectives: to educate the people of Virginia about the importance of ground water, and to inform those relying on ground water of state programs and activities that can assist them in ensuring continued quality and availability.

In addition to the Annual Reports, the Steering Committee has prepared three plans addressing ground water protection in Virginia. The first document was the 1987 Groundwater Protection Strategy for Virginia (the "Strategy"). This was followed by the 1990 Supplement, which assessed the State's progress in implementing actions called for in the Strategy. The most recent document is the 1995 Supplement, which examines the State's progress from 1990 to 1995 in carrying out activities suggested in the Strategy and charts the Steering Committee's course for next five years.

Two of several accomplishments noted in the 1995 Supplement were the passage of the Ground Water Management Act of 1992 and a series of wellhead protection activities. The amended law addresses a number of Steering Committee concerns about ground water supply management in the eastern portion of Virginia. The second major accomplishment was the publication of two documents on wellhead protection. Wellhead Protection: A Handbook for Local Governments in Virginia was published in 1992 and distributed to local government officials across the Commonwealth. In 1993 documentation of the experience of six jurisdictions was published in Wellhead Protection: Case Studies of Six Local Governments in Virginia. Three workshops were held in the summer of 1995 at locations around the state in order to assist local leaders with implementing the recommendations in the two reports.

The Steering Committee has also identified its agenda for 1996 to 2000. A high priority for that period is the continued cooperation and coordination of the Steering Committee member agencies, and increasing education and outreach about ground water.

In addition, the Steering Committee will:

1. Continue to publish its Annual Reports and other reports informing Virginia citizens, officials, and businesses about ground water and State programs;
   
2. Continue to promote voluntary wellhead protection efforts, and testing of private water wells;
   
3. Reassert the following five areas of concern: underground storage tanks, landfills, waste lagoons, septic tanks, and pesticides and fertilizers;
   
4. Give a high priority to exploring opportunities for improving research and information collection and dissemination;
   
5. Continue to seek ways of maximizing the use of limited resources through coordination of activities among state agencies, among localities, between the State and localities, and between public and private entities;
   
6. Seek ways of improving existing programs, and ways to tie planning for ground water protection to planning for economic development.