Drinking Water Source Water Projection and The Role of Watershed Rules and Regulations

Protecting public drinking water at its source is among the most important aspects of long term health of a community, and yet many communities don't realize how many gaps there are in existing laws that can allow for degradation. In recent years, several New York communities have suffered from harmful algal blooms, toxic contamination or other consequences of inadequately protected drinking water supplies, with significant health and economic impacts. Watershed Rules and Regulations allow for specific protections tailored to a water supply's particular risks. In many New York State communities, Watershed Rules Regulations date to the early in the 20th century and are inadequate for mitigating risks from modern development and land use activities. Further complicating water quality protection efforts, many municipally-owned drinking water sources are located outside their municipal boundaries, making administration and oversight of land use controls difficult, if not impossible. Updated Watershed Rules and Regulations can fill existing regulatory gaps to better protect public water supplies and are one important tool in developing robust and effective drinking water source protection programs. The Capital District Regional Planning Commission, together with the Cayuga County Department of Planning & Economic Development and Riverkeeper will present a roundtable discussion on ongoing efforts to update Watershed Rules and Regulations and share strategies from ground-up watershed planning to building a constituency for water quality.