Delaware Source Water Assessment and Protection Program

 

The Source Water Assessment and Protection Program (SWAPP) was created by Congress as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996. The goal of the this Program is to better protect the resources used for public drinking water supply by providing local and state governments, and the public more information about those resources.  Congress gave each state the responsibility for accomplishing a variety of tasks which share the common goal of better protecting our public drinking water.

Since the start of this program, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) has worked with the State to accomplish a variety of tasks.  Initially, the Agency helped write the 1999 Source Water Assessment Plan submitted by the State to U.S. EPA which outlined Delaware’s approach to source water protection.  Concurrently, WRA developed the SWAPP website and continues to maintain it today to provide public access to information developed for this program.  WRA also developed the assessments for the public drinking water systems which use surface water for their supply source … namely Wilmington, Newark, and United Water Delaware.  And WRA developed the Guidance Manual for Local Governments to assist local jurisdictions in Delaware implement measures to protect public drinking water supplies.

WRA has always been a strong advocate for protecting public water supply sources.  The Agency will continue to conduct research and promote policies and programs to implement measures to reduce the opportunity for contaminants to enter public water sources.

Brandywine Christina Two States Joined by a Common Watershed (Apr 15, 2021)