Protect Your Drinking Water at the Source!

Pennsylvanians get their drinking water from our state's more than 83,000 miles of waterways, acres of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands, and a natural system of underground aquifers. Unfortunately, many of these vital water sources have been contaminated or are at risk of contamination. Despite their importance, drinking water sources receive no special protection from pollution and polluting activities in Pennsylvania! Without action, our drinking water sources are in danger.

The Problem With the Status Quo

Drinking water sources serving millions of people have been contaminated by industrial pollution, poorly treated sewage, and stormwater runoff, forcing water companies to spend millions of dollars in extra treatment and exposing consumers to potential health problems. Some PA communities have had to abandon their local drinking water source due to contamination.

Preventing water pollution before it gets in our drinking water sources, both streams and groundwater, protects our health and the health of our water resources. Plus, the cost of preventing pollution is a fraction of what it would cost us to clean it up after the fact.

What can we do?

Clean drinking water is something we all have a right to. It is the responsibility of our state legislators to make it happen.

Take action: Ask your State Representative and Senator to support the Safer Drinking Water Act.

Clean Water Action has gotten our new state legislation introduced, called the Safer Drinking Water Act (HB 2157 and SB 1109). This legislation will:

• Prevent polluters from degrading any river or stream that is a source of pulbic drinking water.
• Establish a "critical zone" to restrict polluting activities in places most likely to result in contamination of drinking water supplies. Municipalities with zoning will be required to write these critical zone protections into their zoning ordinances.
• For a drinking water intake on a river, the "critical zone" will extend 25 miles upstream and a quarter mile up the bank. For a public drinking water well, the "critical zone" is a half mile radius.

Already 68 State Representatives and Senators have co-sponsored the Safer Drinking Water Act. Take action today and make sure your representatives know that they need to make this legislation a priority!

Preventing pollution of our drinking water supplies is cheaper and safer; waiting to take pollutants out of the water after they've been discharged is more dangerous and more expensive—and not a risk our families should have to take.