Protecting Drinking Water

Wellhead Protection Program

A Wellhead Protection Program is a program through the Michigan Department Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE).  Its purpose is to protect public water supply systems, which use ground water, from potential sources of contamination. The City of Battle Creek developed a plan for both of its well fields, Verona and Columbia.  The plan has several key components:

Wellhead Protection Area Delineation: 
The City determined the area which contributed groundwater to its well fields.The area was based on how groundwater moves to the wells within 10 years, known as the 10-year time-of-travel.  In other words, the protection area established how long a contaminant could travel before reaching the public water supply. 

Sources of Contamination: 
A requirement of the plan was to identify known and potential sources of contamination such as leaking underground storage tanks, failed septic tank systems, spills of hazardous chemicals from industrial sites, transportation accidents, and mismanaged manure operations.

Wellhead Protection Area Management: 
Land use issues and zoning ordinances wre considered when managing the wellhead protection area.

Contingency Plans: 
Should a contamination incident occur threatening the City’s water supply, a contingency plan has been developed for three scenarios:  routine monitoring discovery, contaminant release from a site within the protection area, and a chemical spill from a transportation accident.

Who Approved the Wellhead Protection Plan?

The MDNRE approved the wellhead protection plan through the statewide program.   The program is voluntary and was developed in response to 1986 amendments to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.  Battle Creek’s plan for the Verona Well Field was approved in September 2000.  A plan to protect the community’s backup well Field, Columbia, was approved in September 2001.  For further information about the statewide program, visit http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3675_3695---,00.html.

Who Developed the Plan?

The plan was developed by a committee consisting of citizens with an interest in protecting our water resources, known as the WHPP Team.