Protecting Rural Groundwater

Hi, below there's a segment of an announcement that came out today regarding CSBM and our Drinking Water and Groundwater Progrgam in New Hampshire, USA. Contact information is attached for Pierce Rigrod.

NH DESs Annual Drinking Water Source Protection Workshop
Friday, April 30, 2010 at the Grappone Conference Center, Concord NH 8:45 am 3:30 pm

Protecting local water supplies from contamination is a continuing challenge with solutions most often designed at the local level. DES's Annual Source Protection Workshop on Friday, April 30, 2010 is designed for local planning/conservation officials and water supply managers and will focus on the current research and practices that minimize contamination risks to our existing supplies as well as future resources that may be used as a source of drinking water. There are fifteen workshop sessions over the course of the day covering topics that include:

·An update on legislative efforts to develop a comprehensive approach to manage the consumptive uses of water

·Chloride trends found in surface and groundwater based on 2009 study of northern states (including NH)

·BMPs for road salt management, forestry and emergency response / spill controls to protect water supplies

·Occurrence and health risks associated with low doses of arsenic in NH s groundwater

·Using Community-Based Social Marketing as a tool to protect water resources

·How to identify and protect remaining potentially favorable areas for the development of community wells

The day-long workshop is $30 (and includes lunch). For more information and to register, visit the American Ground Water Trusts (our event partner) website, http://www.agwt.org/workshops.htm.

DES Contact: Pierce Rigrod at (603) 271-0688 (DES Source Protection Program)
Drinking Water & Groundwater Bureau
NH DES
29 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/dwgb/dwspp/index.htm

Wayne Ives
Instream Flow Specialist
NH Dept of Environmental Services
United States

Hi Audrey,

A colleague directed me to your query and I might be able to add some information from north of the border. I recently carried out research on social learning and participatory drinking water source protection in Ontario, Canada and encountered some use of CBSM concepts.

Source protection plans are being developed in Ontario for municipal drinking water sources (ground and surface) but they do not cover private wells. An NGO (Green Communities Canada) launched the "Well Aware" program with provincial funding to educate the public about protecting their own wells and groundwater resources. More information about the program is available on their website (http://www.wellaware.ca). They purposefully involve CBSM concepts to encourage behaviour change among the Ontario public. You can read about the program in more detail in the attached article, but here is a quick summary of their program components:
- resource materials (e.g. factsheets)
- public website
- workshops
- community forums
- guided self-assessments of wells and/or home visit where assessment is performed

I had the opportunity to watch a mock home visit during a workshop in Ontarios Bay of Quinte and was really impressed by the high quality, yet accessible, communication and education process.

From my own research I found that watershed-based multi-stakeholder groups (with strong technical support) were excellent forums for increasing individual knowledge and awareness about groundwater issues. In fact, learning about groundwater hydrology was one of the most common learning outcomes among source protection committee members. The ongoing challenge, of course, is translating that learning beyond the community of interested individuals to the broader public. I think the Well Aware program provides a good example of how that's being done in Ontario. I would encourage you to contact the folks at Well Aware to learn more about their experiences as I imagine they would have some useful insights for your work.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Gemma Boag

Gemma Boag
Canada