DENVER - In recognition of August being National Water Quality Month, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA) jointly published “Protecting Drinking Water at the Source.” This brochure provides a concise overview and suggests ways water utilities can partner with the USDA Forest Service to protect an invaluable natural asset.
The Forest Service manages nearly 200 million acres of land across the country. Close to 20% of the U.S. population’s water supply comes from National Forest System lands. Utilities forming partnerships with the Forest Service to plan and implement ecosystem-based management can help water utilities ensure water quality and quantity for their customers. It can also help support the protection of headwaters, which is important because of the connections between the forest cover/forest health, stream health and water treatment costs and long-term reliability of the drinking water source.
The brochure, which can be found on the AWWA Source Water Protection resource page, can be linked directly here.