Drinking Water Source Protection Program (DWSP2) - May Newsletter

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent this bulletin on 05/21/2021 12:01 PM EDT
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Drinking Water Source Protection Program - May Newsletter

This issue's topics:

  • Grant Opportunity - Consolidated Funding Application Now Open!
  • Phase 4 of the Framework for Creating a DWSP2 Plan
    • 4.1 Designate a Plan Management Team

Consolidated Funding Application Now Open!

Grant applications are now being accepted for the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) until 4:00 PM on July 30, 2021. DEC's Division of Water has two grant programs available in the CFA that can protect sources of drinking water:

The Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) grant program funds projects to address documented water quality impairments or protect a drinking water source. Eligible project types include land acquisition for source water protection, non-agricultural nonpoint source abatement and control, salt storage, wastewater treatment improvement, aquatic connectivity restoration, and marine district habitat restoration. For full program details and requirements, including maximum award amounts, required match, and project type descriptions, view DEC's WQIP webpage. 
 
The Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source Planning grant program funds the development of planning reports for nonpoint source water quality improvement projects and mapping of Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4). For full program details and requirements, including eligible grant categories, view DEC's NPG webpage.
 
The CFA is just one example of available funding to assist with the protection of source waters. We will continue to highlight additional grant program as we become aware of them. 

This month we will finish up our tour of “A Framework for Creating a Drinking Water Source Protection Program Plan” as introduced in our December issue. Below is a synopsis of each of the four phases and eight key components of a protection plan. In today’s issue, we will review Phase 4 of the DWSP2 Framework: Progression and Maintenance.

DWSP2 Framework Components

4.1 Designate a Plan Management Team

Your community is now almost complete with their protection plan! What do we mean by almost? It is great the community has a diverse stakeholder group, a drinking water source assessment, and are moving onto protection and implementation strategies. However, to have a successful program, a plan management team is needed to oversee the implementation of projects and maintain the progress that has been achieved both now and in the years to come.

What is the purpose of the plan management team?

Members of the Plan Management Team have an important job.  They are the guardians of the Program, working to ensure the plan is implemented, the community and stakeholders remain involved, the program progresses at a reasonable rate and is updated regularly. Members of the Plan Management Team can be chosen from the stakeholder group developed in Phase 1 or others that have been following the process closely. 
 
In the Plan, the authors should record the members of the community on the Plan Management Team. This should include their name and associated contact information (i.e. phone and email). This team can utilize section 4.1 of the DWSP2 Data Summary to document their plan management strategy and updates/revisions to the plan. 
The Plan Management Team should:
  • Review and share the plan with the stakeholder group, NYS DEC and DOH, and the community.
  • Track progress and share reports annually with the stakeholder group and interested agencies or the community.
  • Create a revision schedule to update the DWSP2 Plan to reflect changes in the source water protection area (e.g. land use, potential contaminant sources, funding, etc.).

It is recommended that the plan be reviewed annually and updated at the same frequency that the municipality has set for updating its adopted comprehensive plan, which usually occurs every five years.

Plan Management Summary

A screenshot of the Plan Management Summary Table from the DWSP2 Data Summary.

If you would like to visit additional resources to aid your Plan Management Team, take a look at: 
For more information, visit Section 4.1 of the Framework. 

Reminder!

Now that we have completed our review of the Framework, remember that there are resources to aid you with gathering data and writing a plan:
  • DWSP2 Data Summary
  • DWSP2 Plan Template
The resources can be found on the DWSP2 webpage. 

Share Your Thoughts

Have you begun this process? Or, do you have a program or are aware of a program relevant to source water? Send in any helpful hints or information at source.water@dec.ny.gov and we may highlight them!

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To sign-up for the DWSP2 newsletter, visit the DWSP2 webpage or click here. 

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