NGWA Regulatory Affairs Manager Chuck Job gave a presentation June 30 on stormwater infiltration effects on groundwater quality to members of the Source Water Collaborative, a public-private sector group that promotes protecting water sources for drinking water supplies.
Job was accompanied by Dan Yates, the executive director of the Ground Water Protection Council. The SWC is a group primarily made up of other water associations and water-related associations with interests in protecting source water.
Among the points brought up by Job and Yates in their presentation were:
- The EPA Clean Water Act Section 402 policy implementation memorandum identifies stormwater infiltration infrastructure to protect surface water as the principal approach to stormwater disposal
- More than 1500 community water systems, many being small and medium groundwater-supplied systems, are coincident with communities having municipal separate storm sewer systems that will have permits to dispose of or infiltrate stormwater
- The EPA put a stormwater infrastructure construction grants program in place in April 2021 with many communities relying on green infrastructure/stormwater infiltration based on EPA policy
- The EPA 2018/2021 “State-of-Science” and 2019 NAS “Industrial Stormwater Permit” reports on stormwater infiltration effects on groundwater quality indicate inadequate understanding of the groundwater impacts.
Job and Yates wondered how groundwater sources will be protected, while pointing out that four water associations joined NGWA in letters and meetings with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Transportation to encourage under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provisions that the EPA and DOT prepare a study with recommendations on stormwater disposal that incorporate groundwater-protective design and maintenance.
The presentation was well received with participants interested in continued collaboration to address this subject.
Job and Yates have also made the presentation in the past to two EPA offices and the DOT.