Wellhead protection is a program to prevent pollution of groundwater used for public drinking water.  Wellhead protection planning consists of:

The main reason for implementing a wellhead protection program is to protect the health of people using the water by preventing contamination of the water supply.  Another reason is to protect a community's investment in its water supply.  The costs of treating contaminated groundwater - or obtaining an alternate source - will be much greater than the costs of implementing wellhead protection.

Groundwater moves very slowly; once it is contaminated, it may remain so for a long time, and it is difficult and expensive to locate and remove the contamination.  It may require decades of treatment before the water is restored to drinking water quality, and in some cases, the contamination may never be completely removed.

Ohio EPA recently endorsed the first two phases of our Wellhead Protection Program.  Phase one determined the boundaries of the wellhead protection area based on a scientific analysis of what area contributes groundwater to our wells within both one and five year periods.  This is significant in that we can now monitor groundwater quality at locations that give us adequate time to address problems if they are ever found.  Phase two included an inventory of potential pollution sources in the wellhead protection area.  In phase three, we will develop management practices within the wellhead protection area in order to protect our water.  This is typically done through a committee representing all those who may be affected by the management practices such as agriculture, industry, political subdivisions, business, etc.

Ohio EPA recently completed a study of the City of St. Marys' source of drinking water to determine its susceptibility to contamination.  According to the study, the aquifers (water-rich zones below ground) that supply well water to the City of St. Marys have a "moderate" susceptibility to contamination.  This does not mean that our wellfields cannot become contaminated, only that the likelihood of contamination is moderate.  Factors considered in the moderate susceptibility determination included:

Send mail to dsprague@cityofstmarys.net with questions or comments about this web site.