Because Protecting Our Water Resources is Everyone’s Responsibility…
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was amended in 1996 to provide communities with more information about the ways in which they can protect their drinking water sources from contamination. The amendments require states to create a Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) for all their public drinking water systems.
The Maine Drinking Water Program (DWP) has evaluated all public water supplies as part of the SWAP. The assessments included geology, hydrology, land uses, water testing information, and the extent of land ownership or protection by local ordinance to see how likely our drinking water source is to being contaminated by human activities in the future. Assessment results are available at town offices, public water suppliers, and the DWP. For more information about the SWAP, please contact the DWP at telephone 287-2070.
Our Water Source
- Our primary source is a combination of eight deep bedrock wells located on Sugarloaf Mountain.
- Our secondary source is the pristine water of the West Branch of the Carrabassett River.
The links in the sidebar include great resources to help anyone get involved in protecting these resources that are so vital to the prosperity of our community.
Protecting Our Source
Recognizing that the best way to maintain high quality drinking water is to prevent contaminants from reaching our water sources, our team encourages everyone in the Sugarloaf Resort Community to help us protect our drinking water sources.
The Safe Drinking Water Act also required states to develop Wellhead Protection Programs. The state of Maine’s program has allowed our team to secure grant money to protect our wellhead areas by:
- Installing “Wellhead Protection Signs” to visually define the areas that need to be protected from some activities.
- Install surveillance cameras to alert operators of risky activity in our source water areas.
- Install sanitary, and wellhead tampering devices to immediately alert operators of direct threats.
Source Water Protection Tips for Everyone
As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it can pick up substances resulting from human or animal activity.
Everyone can help protect our community’s drinking water sources in several ways:
- Eliminate excess use of lawn and garden fertilizers and pesticides – they contain hazardous chemicals that can reach your drinking water source.
- Pick up after your pets. And please don’t walk your pets in the areas designated as wellhead protection zones.
- If you have your own septic system, properly maintain your system to reduce leaching to water sources or consider connecting to a public waste water system.
- Dispose of chemicals, batteries,and other hazardous materials properly; take used motor oil to a recycling center.
Please help us by observing the signs throughout the resort that serve to protect our drinking water sources.