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EPA Recognizes South Middleton Township for Protecting Drinking Water

Release Date: 9/25/2003
Contact Information: Roy Seneca, (215) 814-5567

Roy Seneca, (215) 814-5567

PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presented a source water protection award to South Middleton Township, Cumberland County, Pa. for taking special initiatives to protect the drinking water sources for local residents.

“Protecting the sources of our drinking water safeguards both public health and our environment, and we applaud South Middleton Township for its extraordinary effort,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

EPA selected South Middleton Township as the Pennsylvania recipient of EPA’s source water protection award. The Township’s water protection efforts emphasize the protection of public ground water wells, and include public education, awareness and recommendations to protect the ground water recharge area.

The protection projects included purchasing 90 acres of property surrounding Spring Meadows Park where drinking water wells are located, developing a wellhead protection ordinance, and conducting a study to further evaluate water sources and potential sources of pollution.

EPA’s source water protection awards encourage communities with public drinking water systems to take steps to protect these sources. The award is open to individuals, and public and private organizations throughout EPA’s mid-Atlantic region, which includes Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, the District of Columbia and Maryland. All recipients have voluntarily gone above what the law requires to protect their communities.

In 1996, the federal Safe Drinking Water Act was amended to give greater protection to millions of Americans who rely on public drinking water systems. By law, all states must develop source water assessments for every public water supply, but it is up to the local authorities to develop plans and measures to protect drinking water sources from contamination.