EPA issued its report to Congress on the status of groundwater quality in the United States and the effectiveness of state programs for groundwater protection. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires EPA to issue such a report every three years. The Report included the following Findings:
Findings
- Groundwater is a critical resource to maintain public health, the economy, and the environment.
- From what we know at most locations around the country, groundwater is generally of good quality but continues to be threatened by point and non - point sources, as well as over - pumping.
- States have made considerable progress in implementing federal and state programs aimed at specific contamination concerns.
- Most states agree that a more comprehensive, resource - based approach holds greater potential for accomplishing effective groundwater protection and many states are pursuing key aspects of such an approach.
The Report identified three primary barriers to achieving a more comprehensive approach to groundwater issues:
- Fragmentation of groundwater programs impedes effective management. Most state and federal groundwater protection programs are fragmented among and within agencies. At the state level, authorities to manage the resource are often held among different state agencies with conflicting priorities and goals. Communicating and coordinating among departments with groundwater responsibilities can be difficult. In turn, these barriers can create an impediment to accessing funds for comprehensive planning efforts.
- There is a lack of understanding of groundwater resources locally and regionally (e.g., the extent and condition of the resource, the physical nature of the aquifer, the behavior of contaminants within and their movement through aquifers, the influence of surface water to groundwater and vice versa).
Better information to assess the effectiveness of groundwater protection efforts and to determine the impact of certain land uses on groundwater is needed to set priorities for groundwater protection efforts. The states need to support the development of coordinated, comprehensive approaches for groundwater monitoring that includes priority setting.
- Lack of funding targeted directly to groundwater is the reason most often cited by states for limited efforts at undertaking a more comprehensive resource - based approach. Groundwater protection is often not a high priority for funding. Most states indicate that the mandates under other federal programs often preclude the state from exercising flexibility to use funds for non - mandated groundwater protection priorities. This is particularly the case under the Clean Water Act (CWA), where states have the opportunity to pursue groundwater activities, including more comprehensive resource assessment and planning, utilizing State Water Quality Program Grants, Non - point Source Grants or the non - point source projects supported by the CWA State Revolving Fund loans.