NGWA Regulatory Affairs Manager Chuck Job presented a webinar focused on wellhead protection on February 9 to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff members at the agency’s headquarters, regional, and tribal offices.
The title of the webinar was “Wellhead Protection — A First Line of Defense — Why It Still Matters in 2026.” It covered the history of the Wellhead Protection (WHP) Program, the growth of groundwater use examples of state and local laws supporting WHP, particular protection challenges for aquifer recharge sites and brackish and saline groundwaters in water short areas, and the need for updating WHP plans due to changed conditions in local development and groundwater use.
The EPA reached out to Job soliciting the presentation in response to his article in the Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation Summer 2025 issue titled “Regulator’s Perspective: Wellhead and Source Water Protection - Review of a First Line of Defense.”
The webinar concluded with the points of WHP being a cost-effective program versus costly remediation; flexibility in local control plus state and federal guidance fostering successful groundwater protection; and monitoring, zoning, education, funding, and program updates contributing to WHP being sustainable.
A discussion followed the presentation and focused on case studies of information successfully supporting communities concerned with chemical use, and the future availability of contaminant occurrence data to enable analysis of trends in the quality of local source waters.
The discussion concluded with interest in carrying these topics forward to advance groundwater protection across the country. Participants expressed appreciation for connecting underground injection control, Superfund sites, emerging contaminants, and local and state groundwater statutes to prevent contamination.