Source Water Protection Activity Guide

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Use any of the following drop-down menus to navigate through the guide. Choosing a potential contaminant source category from the drop-down menu will narrow your potential contaminant source choices. Choosing a protection activity category from the drop-down menu will narrow your protection activity choices.


Contaminant Type


Potential Contaminant Source Category Potential Contaminant Source


Protection Activity Category Protection Activity



Source Water Protection Plan

Protection Activity: Planning

A source water protection plan documents a community's source water protection program or activities and informs and educates the public. The plan outlines the management tools the local committee plans to use to protect drinking water sources. Management tools can apply to existing or future potential contaminant sources and can be regulatory or nonregulatory. 

A community can gain official recognition for its source water protection plan by pursuing state certification through DEQ. The certification covers a 5-year period, after which recertification may be pursued. Systems with certified source water protection plans are granted additional points when applying for DEQ-administered drinking water grants and loans. Additionally, US Department of Agriculture Rural Development Programs require any water system financed to have a current certified source water protection plan in place prior to the final advance of financial assistance within Idaho.



Resources for this Protection Activity:
  • Source Water Assessments
    Source water assessment information for Idaho public water systems is accessible using the Source Water Assessment Database. The database provides information on the assessed sources (well, spring, or surface water intake), including a potential contaminant inventory, susceptibility (to contamination) summary, maps (both a static and dynamic map) of the source water delineation, and a summary report.
  • Idaho Source Water Protection Planning Tool
    A tool that assists public water systems in developing a source water protection plan and contingency plan for their water system.

Related Sources: