Every public water system in Ohio that relies on groundwater has a defined source water protection area. A source water protection area is a map of all the land area over the aquifers which provide drinking water to a particular public water system.
It is the responsibility of each municipal public water system to develop a plan to address potential sources of contamination that could impact their aquifer. MCD offers technical assistance to communities. The plans are submitted to Ohio EPA for review and endorsement.
Municipal public water systems in Ohio are also required to test drinking water for contaminants on a regular basis. For many parameters, that is daily. This helps to ensure the water they produce is safe for consumers to drink.
However, if you are a private well owner, the testing is your responsibility and we advise you to test well water at least annually. To make this easier, MCD helps to host Test Your Well events throughout the year where you can bring a sample of your water for analysis.
In general, groundwater in southwest Ohio is high quality water that can easily be treated to meet drinking water standards. But we can’t take clean, plentiful water for granted – everything should be done to protect our water for the future. Water here and across the United States faces multiple threats from a changing climate, polluted runoff from land, and our own personal actions.
MCD encourages stewardship of our water, because we know it is critical to protecting health and quality of life.
