Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters

"What is the Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters (DWMAPS)?

The Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters or DWMAPS is EPA’s online mapping tool to help you find information about drinking water in your community. This user-friendly tool provides answers to questions like:

• Who supplies my drinking water?
• Is the source of my drinking water polluted?
• Are there possible sources of pollution near my drinking water that might be affecting my community's water supply?
• How can I get involved in protecting sources of drinking water in my community?..."
  Drinking water

Clean Water Rule Protects Streams and Wetlands Critical to Public Health, Communities, and Economy

 "In an historic step for the protection of clean water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army finalized the Clean Water Rule today to clearly protect from pollution and degradation the streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources.

The rule ensures that waters protected under the Clean Water Act are more precisely defined and predictably determined, making permitting less costly, easier, and faster for businesses and industry. The rule is grounded in law and the latest science, and is shaped by public input. The rule does not create any new permitting requirements for agriculture and maintains all previous exemptions and exclusions.

“For the water in the rivers and lakes in our communities that flow to our drinking water to be clean, the streams and wetlands that feed them need to be clean too,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Protecting our water sources is a critical component of adapting to climate change impacts like drought, sea level rise, stronger storms, and warmer temperatures – which is why EPA and the Army have finalized the Clean Water Rule to protect these important waters, so we can strengthen our economy and provide certainty to American businesses.”..."Clean water

Clean Water:Foundation of Healthy Communities and a Healthy Environment
"Recognizing the importance of clean water for healthy people, a healthy economy, and a healthy environment, the Obama Administration is working hard on a broad array of programs and initiatives to protect and enhance the Nation’s waters. The purpose of this document is to highlight important, ongoing initiatives at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of the Interior (DOI), together with their other Federal partners, to protect our vital water resources. It also shows some important new initiatives, including updated draft guidance regarding Clean Water Act jurisdiction and modernization of the Principles and Guidelines which guide Federal investments in water resources. Taken together, these actions demonstrate a strong commitment by the Obama Administration to build on past progress and work with state, local and tribal governments, communities, and other private and not-forprofit partners across the Nation to design and deploy innovative approaches that directly address today’s clean water challenges..."

EPA Updates Web Tool Providing Clean Water Violation Trends and State Enforcement Response
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released updated data and a mapping tool designed to help the public compare water quality trends over the last two years. The web-based, interactive map includes “state dashboards” that provide detailed information for each state, including information on facilities that are violating the Clean Water Act and the actions states are taking to enforce the law and protect people’s health.....

The state dashboards incorporate data for both large and small sources of water pollution, along with the latest information from EPA’s 2009 Annual Noncompliance Report. The public can examine and compare information on the inspections conducted by both EPA and the state in their region, violations and enforcement actions in their communities over the past two years and the penalties levied in response to violations..."
Access the database.

EPA Releases Draft Strategy for Clean Water
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting the public to comment on the agency’s draft strategy to protect and restore our nation’s lakes, streams and coastal waters. The strategy, “Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA’s Strategy for Achieving Clean Water,” is designed to chart EPA’s path in furthering EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s key priority of protecting America’s waters.

The strategy was developed by considering the input and ideas generated at the April “Coming Together for Clean Water” forum as well as comments received through the online discussion forum. Participants shared their perspectives on how to advance the EPA’s clean water agenda focusing on the agency’s two priority areas: healthy watersheds and sustainable communities. EPA is now inviting the public to consider and provide their comments on the approaches outlined in the strategy..."

EPA Launches New Web Tools to Inform the Public About Clean Water
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new set of web tools, data, and interactive maps to inform the public about serious Clean Water Act violations in their communities. Improving water quality is one of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s priorities and in 2009, Administrator Jackson directed the agency to develop concrete steps to improve water quality, to better enforce the Clean Water Act and to use 21st Century technology to transform the collection, use and availability of EPA data. The web tools announced today is part of EPA’s Clean Water Act Action Plan to work with states in ensuring that facilities comply with standards that keep our water clean...

The new web page provides interactive information from EPA’s 2008 Annual Noncompliance Report, which pertains to about 40,000 permitted Clean Water Act dischargers across the country. The report lists state-by-state summary data of violations and enforcement responses taken by the states for smaller facilities. The new web page also makes it easy to compare states by compliance rates and enforcement actions taken and provides access to updated State Review Framework (SRF) reports."

Interactive Map for Clean Water Act Annual Noncompliance Report:
http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/ancr/us/

Coming Together for Clean Water Discussion Forum
"Nearly 40 years ago, Congress passed a truly remarkable piece of legislation—the Clean Water Act. This document outlined sweeping commitments to restore and maintain the integrity of our nation’s waters, rid them of pollution, and make them safe for humans and wildlife alike.

For even longer, the Environmental Protection Agency has worked to fulfill these ambitious and important goals. Our efforts have made our water resources cleaner and safer in many ways, but new challenges arise everyday. This April, Administrator Lisa Jackson and I are inviting 100 leaders in water issues to help us sharpen our thinking during a one-day event, Coming Together for Clean Water, on how we can meet these challenges.

Specifically, we’ll discuss what we can do about the most significant pollution problems facing our waters. These evolving issues pose complex challenges to restoring healthy watersheds and creating sustainable communities across the country.

These priorities are important to all of us, and cannot be achieved in one day. That’s why Administrator Jackson and I are asking you to participate in this discussion forum, which was designed around the questions we’ll tackle during the Coming Together for Clean Water conference. I encourage you to share your thoughts and experiences on these topics, so we can use them to inform our discussion..."