ARTICLE INDEX
Volume 5, Number 2
May 1995

PROTECT OUR DRINKING WATER!
Every year, American families use between 50,000 and 200,000 gallons of water. Water affects our health, our lifestyles, and our economic well being. Knowing how to take care of this precious resource is necessary now and for future generations. To commemorate National Drinking Water Week, May 7-13, the National Drinking Water Alliance is recommending the following 10 key actions for citizens to take to conserve and protect water. These household and community actions are critical in maintaining our health and the health of our water.

1. Take potentially harmful products such as used batteries, motor oil, leftover paint, bug spray, weed killers, and some household cleaners to special collection centers. At the same time, look for healthier alternatives to hazardous products, because what you throw in the trash, pour down the drain or dump on the ground can get into your water source.
2. Plant low-water-use grasses and shrubs to cut your lawn watering by 20 to 50 percent. In many areas of the country, 50 to 70 percent of household water is used outdoors for watering lawns and gardens.
3. Remember to always start with cold water and heat it on the stove or in the microwave for cooking or drinking. Lead can get into drinking water from lead solder and pipes used in household plumbing. Because hot water picks up lead, never use water from the hot water tap to prepare baby formula, food, or drinks.
4. Replace old, inefficient water fixtures and appliances with their state-of- the-art counterparts to save water, energy, and money. Low-flow shower heads, toilets, and water-efficient appliances can save hundreds or even thousands of gallons of water each year. Install low-flow fixtures and encourage your family, friends, and coworkers to do the same.
5. Spread the word on using pesticides and fertilizers sparingly and learn to use natural methods for gardening and lawn care. Pesticides, weed killers, and fertilizers used on home gardens and lawns can get into your drinking water source. As rainwater passes down through the ground, it takes these chemicals with it and can contaminate water.
6. Give water a hand by supporting local, state, and national measures to protect watersheds and groundwater. Preventing watersheds and groundwater from becoming contaminated is healthier from the start and requires less treatment to make water safe to drink.
7. If you own a septic system or know someone who does, encourage them to have it inspected annually and pumped out regularly. Septic tanks can leak nitrates, bacteria, and chemicals into groundwater.
8. Make a difference by joining a local group working to improve and safeguard water quality. Concerned citizens pooling their time and talent have been known to move industries, communities and Congress to better protect our water sources.
9. Practice environmental actions to reduce, re-use, and recycle. Although water is most often seen as blue, it's part of the whole green environmental effort.
10. Spread the word for water every chance you get. Talking with family, friends, and co-workers can clear up a lot. The more people know about how to conserve, protect, and get involved with water, the better off we'll all be.

These recommended actions to conserve and protect our critical water sources are a service of the "Blue Thumb" campaign, a national educational effort sponsored by the National Drinking Water Alliance. The group is composed of 17 national nonprofit organizations.
(American Water Works Association)

WE ALL LIVE IN A WATERSHED!
A watershed is all the land area that water flows across or under on its way to a stream, river, or lake.

How do watersheds work?
The landscape is made up of many interconnected basins, or watersheds. Within each watershed, all water runs to the lowest point--a stream, river, or lake. On its way through the watershed, the water travels over the surface and across farm fields, forest land, suburban lawns, and city streets, or it seeps into the soil and travels as groundwater. Large watersheds like the ones for the Mississippi River, Columbia River, and Chesapeake Bay are made up of many smaller watersheds across several states.

Are all watersheds the same?
Not at all. Watersheds come in many different shapes and sizes and have many different features. Watersheds can have hills or mountains or be nearly flat. They can have farmland, rangeland, small towns, and big cities. Parts of your watershed can be so rough, rocky, or marshy that they are suited only for certain trees, plants, and wildlife.

Your watershed community.
Everyone lives in a watershed. You and everyone in your watershed are part of the watershed community. The animals, birds, and fish are, too. You influence what happens in your watershed, good or bad, by how you treat the natural resources--the soil, water, air, plants, and animals. What happens in your small watershed also affects the larger watershed downstream.

There are many things you and your watershed community can do to keep your watershed healthy and productive.

Let's work together to keep our watersheds healthy. Here are some things you can do:
On the farm--Keep plant residue on the surface of sloping cropland. This reduces runoff and prevents sediment, fertilizers, and pesticides from entering streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds.
At home--Landscape your yard with plants that need minimal water and fertilizer. Use only the amount of fertilizers and pesticides that plants need.
In your community--Protect wetlands that serve as natural buffers against pollution, soil erosion, and flooding.

(USDA-NRCS)

ADD TO YOUR DRINKING WATER IQ!
Every day in the United States, we drink about 110 million gallons of water. Your health, that of your family, and the health of the nation depends on high quality drinking water. As a special service for National Drinking Water Week, May 7-13, the National Drinking Water Alliance is releasing 10 key facts about water that everyone should know to be an informed and involved consumer. Knowing about water clears up a lot.

1. Every lake, river, stream, and aquifer has its own unique water characteristics. Each and every one of these freshwater bodies has a differenct combination of minerals, chemicals, and nutrients.
2. Pollutants, including pesticides, weed killers, and hazardous chemicals, routinely find their way into water sources. More than 200 million pounds of contaminants are dumped into our water resources every year. And "nonpoint source" pollution, which is caused by pollutants washed off lawns, farms, streets, and landfills, add additional contaminants.
3. Some communities have well thought-out protection for their water sources; others do not. Concrete, asphalt, and other urban construction near water bodies increase water pollution significantly. Trees, grasses, and other natural buffers reduce water pollution.
4. Some water requires very simple treatment to meet drinking water standards; other water must go through complex treatment processes. All public water supplies using surface water sources are "disinfected" with chlorine to kill bacteria and germs. In addition, 50 percent of groundwater systems are disinfected. Some water, in addition, requires a 6-step process to make it fit to drink.
5. The Safe Drinking Water Act--a law passed by Congress in 1974--and amended in 1986--regulates the quality of public drinking water in the United States. Each state enforces water regulations under the act and collects water monitoring and test results. Some utilities perform more than 10,000 water tests a year.
6. Water contaminants injurious to human health are of two basic types: organisms that may cause immediate illnesses and other substances that over time may result in more serious diseases. Some contaminants, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and coliform bacteria, for example, can cause short-term intestinal illnesses in normally healthy people. Long-term consumption of some water contaminants, such as lead, can cause nervous system disorders. And evidence suggests that other contaminants, tri-halomethanes, for example, may cause cancer at high doses.
7. If drinking water does not meet federal standards for quality, the water utility is required by law to notify its customers. Most violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act are procedural and do not affect the health of consumers. Water quality problems that can affect public health are reported immediately through the news media and special alerts.
8. Fifteen percent of the American population draw their water from private wells and springs, which may not be regularly tested. Many state health departments require testing; however, if you get water from a private well, you are responsible for testing and treating the water.
9. No state or federal taxes are used to operate public water utilities. Operational expenses and utility upgrades are paid for entirely by consumers. The average monthly water bill in the U.S. is $15, ranging from a low of $8 to a high of more than $40. Water rates are dictated by the cost of securing water, treating it, maintaining the treatment system, building and maintaining the distribution system, and administrative operations.
10. No single home water treatment device treats water for everything, various technologies reduce different contaminants.

LOCAL SOURCES OF FUNDS FOR WELLHEAD PROTECTION
(This is the second in a series of articles on local approaches to procure funding to protect groundwater.)
From a local perspective, revenues to finance wellhead protection programs can come from the following sources:

• local taxes
• local fees
• private-sector investments
• capital financing sources

Local taxes and fees support wellhead protection programs in two ways. They can finance operating programs on a "pay-as-you go" basis, with annual administrative costs balanced by dedicated annual tax receipts or fee revenues. They can also support the financing of capital projects if they are pledged to repay the principal and interest on tax-exempt bonds or bank loans.

Designing the exact mix and timing of taxes and fees to finance wellhead protection initiatives typically centers around concerns for equitable cost-sharing, efficient collection of funds, and political acceptability. Generally, managers consider five questions in selecting among available tax/fee options:

1. Who should pay for wellhead protection?
2. Will revenues be adequate for their intended uses over time?
3. Will revenues be stable and predictable from year to year?
4. Are the costs of administration prohibitive?
5. Are incentives to change behavior as important as raising revenues?

There are four basic options to raise revenue for local groundwater protection programs. These options include: (1) local taxes, (2) local fees, (3) private sector investments, and (4) capital financing sources. This article will deal with local taxes.

Option #1: Local Taxes
Both general taxes and excise taxes are options in this category.
General taxes--The principal taxes levied by most governments are personal property taxes, ad valorem taxes (based on a property's assessed value), sales taxes, and income taxes. Income, sales, and personal property taxes comprise the principal sources of revenue for most state govenments. Examples of such financing systems include the following:

• The South Florida Water Management District finances water use permits, recharge programs, drought contingency planning, and groundwater protection, as well as surface water controls, from an ad valorem tax.
• Suffolk County, New York, dedicates a portion of its sales tax receipts (equal to 0.25 percent of the value of all taxable goods and services) to the development of sewer systems and land acquisition.
• Spokane County, Washington, dedicates a portion of its sales tax receipts (also equal to 0.25 percent of the value of taxable goods and services) to the development of interceptor sewers and treatment facilities, monitoring programs, and provision of services in a special protection area.

Depending on the commodity or service to be taxed, an excise tax can function as a general tax, an indirect tax on polluters, or an indirect tax on beneficiaries. The Federal Superfund tax on petroleum and chemical feedstocks is one example of an excise tax on polluters. The Washington State litter control tax is another. Beneficiaries also pay excise taxes, such as those associated with public water supply. Examples include state and local excise taxes on plumbing fixtures, lawn sprinkling equipment, and water consumption, the latter being the most widespread.

The real estate transfer tax is a popular form of excise tax for financing environmental programs, particularly land acquisitions. Some examples:

• Vermont recently passed legislation doubling its real estate transfer tax to 1 percent. The revenue will be distributed to towns and regional planning commissions to strengthen land-use planning and land acquisition, including acquisition for wellhead protection.
• In Nantucket, Massachusetts, the proceeds of a local land transfer tax are used for land acquisition. Although the Nantucket Land Bank was developed primarily for shore and estuary protection and restoration, select parcels are acquired for aquifer protection.
• Spokane County, Washington, relies in part on a transfer tax to finance sewers, treatment works, monitoring, and other activities in a special aquifer protection area.

BMPs FOR EROSION CONTROL
(This is the second of a two part article on BMPs to control erosion from agricultural land.)
Specific types of best management practices (BMPs) for erosion control that should be employed in many areas of Idaho include:

1. Conservation cropping sequence.
2. Crop residue management and conservation tillage.
3. Contour and cross-slope farming.
4. Contour strip cropping and divided slopes.
5. Deep chiseling and subsoiling.
6. Cover crops.
7. Grassed waterways.
8. Vegetative filter strips.
9. Terraces.
10. Water and sediment control basins.
11. Mulching.

• Deep chiseling and subsoiling consists of pulling chisels or subsoil shanks through the soil below normal plow depths to fracture compaction layers and improve water infiltration.
• For best results, perform deep chiseling and subsoiling in the fall after crop harvest when the soil is dry.
• To avoid concentrating surface water and creating gullies, pull chisels and subsoilers on the contour or across slope.
• Deep chiseling and subsoiling leaves open fissures to the soil surface where rain and snow can infiltrate. Advantage: Greater amounts of moisture stored in the soil for the next crop.
• Close chisel and subsoiler fissures the next spring to avoid moisture loss.

• A cover crop is one that is planted especially to protect the soil from erosion and may be harvested for commercial purposes or tilled out once the erosion period is over.
• Plant vigorous, close-grown crops in the fall to provide soil protection over winter.
• Rapidly establishing small grains are the most popular cover crops.

• Most cropland fields have a variable topography, with normal water runoff moving to the concave portions of the landscape known as waterways. Erosion occurs in the waterway when the soil is loose or has been tilled.
• Shape the sides of waterways and plant to grass to provide protection from erosion.

• Vegetative filter strips are strips of grass or other close growing vegetation that slow water runoff and trap sediment and other solid materials.
• Plant filter strips in areas where water will pass over them as sheet flow.
• Filter strips are most effective for removal of heavy particles.

• A terrace is an earthen embankment constructed across a slope to trap and store water runoff or transport water to a non-erodible outlet.
• Terraces are best adapted to rainfed croplands but can also be used on sprinkler irrigated croplands.

• Water and sediment control basins are earthen embankments constructed across minor watercourses.
• These small basins are effective for preventing gully erosion, trapping sediment, and reducing downstream peak flows.

• Mulch the soil surface with off-site residue or other organic material to protect soil when vegetative or residue cover is not available.
• Mulches improve water intake, absorb the impact of falling raindrops, and trap water to slow its movement.
• Straw mulching is becoming a readily accepted way to reduce irrigation-induced erosion in furrow irrigated fields.

BLUE THUMB WATER LOG
Earth has been called the blue planet. Oceans, clouds, lakes, rivers, and streams make it look blue from outer space. Nevertheless, only about one percent of all the water on Earth is available for drinking, cooking, and a million other uses. That's why having a Blue Thumb comes in handy. It helps you take care of our precious and limited water resources. Post this log and check off a box every time you use your Blue Thumb.

• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth. Encourage your family to do the same.
• Take dead batteries and used motor oil to special collection centers. Help your friends and neighbors do the same.
• Install a low-flow showerhead. Tell a coworker how much you save on water bills.
• Repair a leaky faucet. Show a friend how.
• Use less weed killer and lawn and garden fertilizers. Talk with your neighbors about doing the same.
• Write a letter to a local official urging more protection of water sources. Send a copy of the letter to your local newspaper.
• Attend a community water meeting. Take a friend with you.
• Every time you exercise your Blue Thumb, you give drinking water a hand.

©American Water Works Association
Permission is granted to the media and National Drinking Water Week
Participants to use this Blue Thumb Water Log for educational purposes.

WATER QUIZ
To have a "Blue Thumb" means you know how to take care of water; conserve it and protect it from pollution. You can have a "Blue Thumb" by taking positive actions for water.
Across
2. Use this to show you care for water (2 words)
7. Always run your tap until the water is _____ before drinking it
9. Save leftover hobby supplies, like this, and dispose of them at a special collection center
11. Water that turns to vapor and rises to the sky
12. Use this to wash your bike rather than let the hose run
13. Put a nozzle on this to save water
14. All living things _____ water
16. Motor _____ should be taken to a service station for recycling
18. Most people get their water from a public water utility; but some people use _____ wells
19. Some cleaners, like furniture polish, are _____ to water
20. Water occurs in _____ states: solid, liquid, or gas
21. You can fill this with water and put it in your refrigerator to keep water cold

Down
1. Best time of the day to water the lawn or flowers
3. Don't water this when you expect it to rain
4. Turn this off while you brush your teeth
5. Room in your house that uses the most water
6. Place where water is cleaned and treated for drinking (2 words)
8. Consume a beverage, like water
10. Inspect all pipes and toilets for these
12. Aquifers are _____ ground
15. At 32 degrees Fahrenheit, water does this
17. Eighty percent of the earth's surface is covered with this

Answers in next issue.

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Revised: January 3, 2003

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