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Source Water Protection Through Healthy Forests. 2014 AWWA ACE14 - Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11, 2014. G. Tracy Mehan The Cadmus Group, Inc . Today’s Presentation. Watershed Conditions & Water Quality Impacts. 1. Forested Watersheds & Management. 2. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Source Water Protection Through Healthy Forests
G. Tracy MehanThe Cadmus Group, Inc.
2014 AWWA ACE14 - Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11, 2014
Today’s Presentation1
2
3
4
Watershed Conditions & Water Quality Impacts
Forested Watersheds & Management
U.S. Endowment & AWWA Partnership
Source Water Protection Efforts
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
6 Resources
5 Funding Source Water Protection
• Increased imperviousness & disturbances lead to decline in water quality
• Effects of urbanization on headwater streams
• Relationship between degree of forest cover and drinking water treatment cost
Watershed Conditions & Water Quality Impacts
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Forested Watersheds & Management
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
What is a Healthy, Well-Managed Forest?• Managed for multiple values:
– Lumber– Fiber– Recreation– Ecosystem services– Wildlife
• Protected against catastrophic fire, invasive species, disease, overstocking (high stand density)
• One approach: forest certification, e.g. SFI• Protection of both public and private forests
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Poor Forest Management Affects Water Quality
• Less filtration, removal of sediment, uptake of chemicals/ pollutants
• Increased sediment runoff, ash from forest fires, water temperature from tree/shade removal
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Utilities Don’t Need to Own Land to Protect It
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-112014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
• Private landowners may be incentivized to improve management to benefit water quality
• Third parties, e.g. land trusts, may also own and manage land or facilitate easements
Healthy, well-managed forests
High quality, protected source water
Less water treatment
Less energy and chemicals
Sustainable communitiesLess cost to utilities and citizens
Ancillary values (e.g. carbon sequestration, habitat)
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Benefits of Well-Managed Forests
U.S. Endowment & AWWA Partnership
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and CommunitiesA perpetual endowment to promote healthy, sustainable forests and their many
societal benefits (www.usendowment.org)
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Partnership with AWWA• Seeks systemic, transformative change in protection of forested
watersheds via “beneficiary pays” (payments for watershed services) and other approaches
• Links water consumers with water producers—forest landowners • Promotes cost-effectiveness of watershed protection as a complement to
traditional treatment• Supports local efforts to develop long-term or sustainable funding: utility
base budgets, fees for water consumers, sales taxes, conservation ballot measures
AWWA Utilities Survey - Goals
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
• AWWA provided support to the U.S. Endowment by conducting a survey of utility members on source water protection issues in 2013
• Three primary goals:1. Notify its members of the collaboration2. Garner support and identify relevant contacts3. Gather input on the potential of forested watershed management and conservation efforts to improve source water quality
AWWA Utilities Survey – Key Findings
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
• 75% of respondents indicated forest lands play a very or somewhat significant role in protecting their water quality
• There was a diverse mixture of public lands and private lands in source watersheds. Equal numbers indicated 75-100% public lands and <25% private lands.
• Nearly 90% of respondents have or are developing a source water protection program
AWWA Utilities Survey - Trends
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
• Most common concern (62%) of respondents was agricultural non-point source pollution.
• Respondents were also concerned about:– Impervious surface runoff (52%)– Urban non-point source pollution (49%)– Point source pollution (45%)– Mining, oil, natural gas, and other mineral extraction (30%)
• Conclusions:– Many opportunities exist to improve source water protection – More research may be needed to determine whether other utilities that
did not participate in the survey are interested in source water protection
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Beneficiary Pays ApproachForested watersheds supply nearly two-thirds of the clean water supply in the U.S.
The “Beneficiary Pays” approach helps communities develop sustainable funding to protect and management of forested watersheds and water supplies.
Top-down planning and bottom-up implementation are necessary for source water protection (SWP).
+$27-$1
$2 billion
$10 billion
$1 spent on SWP saves $27 on water treatment (Winecki, 2012)
10% increase in forest cover reduces treatment and chemical costs by 20% (TPL & AWWA, 2004) (needs further research and verification*)* TPL concluded in a 2008 study reviewing the 2004 data and additional data that “relationships [between source water quality, percent land cover, and drinking water treatment costs] are weak due to high variability within the data”
NYC filtration avoidance waiver allowed $2 billion investment in watershed vs projected $10 billion in treatment, operations, and maintenance
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Financial Benefits
Source Water Protection Efforts
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Back to the Future• Philadelphia, PA
• 1812: Bought 9,000 acres to protect source water • Seattle, WA
• 1889: Began acquiring the forested Cedar River Watershed to protect and filter its source water. It now owns the entire 99,000 acre watershed
• Providence, RI • 1980s: Began collecting fee for land acquisition: One penny per hundred gallons
of water delivered• Providence Water owns 33% of land surrounding reservoir
• Manchester, NH• Owns 8,000 acres around source lake• Revenue from sustainable timber harvests: $150,000-$200,000 per year
• CT Southern Water Authority • Owns and carefully manages 27,000 acres
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Boston: Green Complements Gray• Division of Water Supply Protection (DWSP), Massachusetts Department of
Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Quabbin Watershed:• 2.5 million people – Boston & Chicopee Valley• 1920-1930s: Purchased 60,000 acres of the Quabbin watershed• Today: DWSP owns 81,000 acres• Revenue from sustainable timber harvests: $300,000-$800,000 per year
• Multiple Barrier approach:• Watershed protection to provide high quality source water
• Funded entirely by ratepayers• Filtration (by forest) to remove particulate contaminants and some pathogens
• Filtration waiver (SDWA)• Disinfection to kill surviving microorganisms
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Funding Source Water Protection
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Raleigh, NC40 cents/month$2 million/year
Denver, CO33 cents/month$3.3 million/year
Little Rock, AR45 cents/month~$1 million/year
Flagstaff, AZ$25 per $250k home, $50 per $500k home, etc.$10 million bond
San Antonio, TX1/8 cent sales tax$90 million cap
San Francisco, CAUtility base budget$50 million/ 10 years
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Communities with Established SWP Revenue
Providence, RI3 cents/100 gallons$1.5-2 million/year
Example of a Successful Fee Project by The U.S. Endowment
• Raleigh, NC Watershed Protection Fee• >300,000 people get drinking water from Falls Lake, Upper Neuse River
Basin, NC • Watershed protection fee instituted in 2012• Average 40 cents/month/household• Generates $1.8 million annually for watershed protection
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Conservation Ballot Measures
• In 2012, voters passed 81% of ballot measures, raising an estimated $767 million
• Concern for public drinking water supplies (90%) and clean water (76%) always the top motivator for voters
• The Endowment is working with The Trust for Public Land to expand this approach to more communities
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Resources & Collaboratives• AWWA
• G300 Standard for SWP (with guidebook): bit.ly/1kFpso3• Survey of large water systems regarding SWP• Exemplary SWP Awards• Forest Cover Impacts on the Cost of Water Treatment Project (co-funded by AWWA
& The Endowment)
• Source Water Collaborative: sourcewatercollaborative.org• Pilot projects (e.g., Salmon Falls, ME & NH; WI, WY, PA)• Working with State Conservationists (NRCS/NSDA)
• State Source Water Collaboratives: • North Carolina Source Water Collaborative (ncswc.org)• Connecticut Source Water Collaborative (1.usa.gov/1gxJfk8) • Idaho Source Water Collaborative (protectthesource.org)
• U.S. Forest Service – Forest to Faucets: 1.usa.gov/1egxHFD2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Water Research Foundation: waterrf.org• Source Water Protection Vision and Roadmap• Source Water Protection Project:
www.waterrf.org/resources/NewsletterStories/WaterProtectionWorkshop_fullArticle.html
World Resources Institute (WRI) Report: Natural Infrastructure (2013)• wri.org/publication/natural-infrastructure• Research partly funded by the U.S. Endowment• Identifies opportunities to protect source water by
investing in natural infrastructure
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Resources & Collaboratives
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities Can:• Connect you with experts• Provide resources for community stakeholders• Work with you to explore options• Targeted funding
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
Resources & Collaboratives
2014 AWWA ACE14: Uniting the World of Water - Boston, MA - June 8-11
“Perhaps the two most important lessons from experience to date are the power of individuals and the importance
of partnerships. Ultimately, the most effective messengers are influential individuals within their own institutions.”
– Gartner, et al. 2013, Natural Infrastructure
“All politics is local” – Tip O’Neil
Additional Slides on AWWA SWP Survey
The following slides contain additional information on the 2013 AWWA Source Water
Protection survey
AWWA 2013 Source Water Protection Survey – additional detailed information
Contact:Adam T. CarpenterRegulatory Analyst
Population ServedRetail and Wholesale population served by your utility (enter without commas) 59 complete surveys
Answer Options Response Average Response Total Response Count
Approximate retail population served by your utility (Not number of accounts).
205,861.38 11,528,237 56
Approximate wholesale population served by your utility (Not number of wholesale accounts).
501,801.33 24,588,265 49
answered question 58
skipped question 2
Forested Lands
50.9%
24.6%
8.8%
14.0%
1.8%
Do forested lands play a role in protecting water quality in your watershed(s)? (n = 57)
Yes, forested lands play a very significant role in protecting water quality in our watershed(s).
Yes, forested lands play a somewhat significant role in protecting water quality in our water-shed(s).
Yes, forested lands play a minor role in protect-ing water quality in our watershed(s).
No, forest lands do not play a role in protecting water quality in our watershed.
I do not know.
Public Lands
34.5%
7.3%
10.9%
32.7%
14.5%
What percentage of these watershed(s) are on public lands? (n = 55)
75%-100%
50%- <75%
25%- <50%
<25%
I do not know
Established SWP Program
71.9%
10.5%
17.5%
Do you have an established source water protection program? (n = 57)
Yes
No
No, but one is currently under development
Primary SWP Concerns
Stormwater runoff from impervious
surfaces
Point source pollu-tion (such as indus-
trial discharges, sewer overflows or CAFO discharges)
Agricultural non-point source pollu-
tion
Urban non-point source pollution
Mining, oil, natural gas, or other mineral
extraction
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
What are your primary source water protection challenges or concerns? (check all that apply)
(n=51)
Loss of Forest Cover
55.4%44.6%
Are you concerned about the ef -fect of lost forest cover on
source water quality in your util-ity's wastershed(s)? (n=56)
YesNo
29.8%
70.2%
Is there information suggesting loss of forest cover is affecting
source water quality in your utility's watershed(s)? (n=57)
YesNo
Loss of Forest Cover, continuedIf you answered yes to the previous question, please select all problems that may be contributing to loss of forest cover in your utility's watershed(s)
Answer Options Response Percent Response Count
Development (urban) 56.5% 13
Expanding row crop / grassland agriculture 8.7% 2
Invasive Species, insect pests, or disease 43.5% 10
Forest fires 47.8% 11
Failure to implement, or lack of forest management practices39.1% 9
Drought 34.8% 8
Changing Climate 39.1% 9
Other (please specify) 21.7% 5
answered question 23
skipped question 37
Cost-Benefit Analysis
10.5%
14.0%
75.4%
Have you considered perform-ing a cost-benefit analysis on
the merits of source water protection via forest conserva-tion, restoration, and/or man-
agement? (n=57)We have already per-formed an analysis
We are considering / planning to conduct an analysis
We have not con-sidered performing an analysis
35.1%
7.0%
57.9%
Would you be interested in ac-quiring technical assistance to
perform or update such an anal-ysis? (n=57)
Yes, we are interested in acquiring technical assistance to perform an analysis.
Yes, we are interested in acquiring technical assistance to update our analysis.
No, we are not in-terested.
SWP StudiesFlo
odpl
ain/
ripar
ian
zone
re...
Fore
st m
anag
emen
t pra
ct...
Redu
ced
sedi
men
t loa
ds
Redu
ced
nutri
ent l
oads
Flood
redu
ctio
n
Road
man
agem
ent/d
ecom
m...
Fire
risk
miti
gatio
n
Othe
r (pl
ease
des
crib
e)
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%
Have you undertaken or are you planning to undertake studies on the impacts of any of the following mitigation measures on source water
quality? (n = 24)Note: 36 participants skipped this question
SWP Improvement Project FundingFlo
odpl
ain/
ripar
ian
zone
refo
re...
Fore
st m
anag
emen
t pra
ctice
s
Redu
ced
sedi
men
t loa
ds
Redu
ced
nutri
ent l
oads
Flood
atte
nuat
ion
Road
man
agem
ent/d
ecom
miss
...
Fire
risk
miti
gatio
n
Vege
tatio
n Bu
ffers
05
101520253035404550
Is your utility currently implementing projects to improve source water quality, and if so,
what funding sources are you using for those projects? (check all that apply) (n=41)
User or watershed management fees
Water rates
Local government general fund
State grant funds
Federal grant funds
State loan program
Federal loan program
Philanthropic funds
Volunteer Efforts
Not Applicable
SWP Improvement Projects
Floodp
lain/rip
arian
zone r
efores
tation
Forest
man
agemen
t prac
tices
Redu
ced se
diment
loads
Redu
ced nu
trient
loads
Flood
atten
uation
Road
man
agem
ent/d
ecommiss
ioning
Fire ris
k mitig
ation
Vege
tation
Buffers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Are there efforts, being undertaken by others, within your watershed(s) to help improve
source water quality? (n=53)
Yes No
I don't know
SWP Potential Projects
User or watershed management fee
Land trusts for purchase of land or conservation
easements
Land trusts for re-forestation or forest
stewardship
Bond issue Cost share, such as with a USDA/NRCS
program
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Please indicate on a scale of 1 to 5 how likely your utility or the community you serve is to utilize the following tools for source water protection (1 = very unlikely and 5 = very
likely or already in use) (n=55)
1
2
3
4
5