Local Ordinance Updates for Groundwater Protection
The Local Source Water Protection grant provides funding for organizations to complete local projects that protect aquifers, lakes and rivers used as local sources of drinking water. Projects from the 2022 grant round were completed this spring and a lot of great work was accomplished by public water systems, municipalities and other partners.
Many municipalities receiving grants this round focused on updating groundwater protection ordinances that were outdated, ambiguous or had significant gaps in protection. Updating groundwater protection ordinances helps maximize clean recharge, prevent contamination and protect public health, while ensuring long-term availability of drinking water.
In 2022, the Rockingham Planning Commission, Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission and Strafford Regional Planning Commission worked with a total of nine communities to update local zoning codes that protect groundwater. These updates focused on clarifying inaccurate or outdated groundwater protection district boundaries, modifying or updating state laws and administrative rule references, stating the legal authority for municipalities to implement groundwater ordinances, and applying greater consistency with the NHDES Groundwater Protection Model Ordinance.
Franklin and Sanbornton stood out as a great example of communities working together to coordinate updates to their zoning to protect groundwater and drinking water. This effort was led by the New Hampshire Water Works Association and Resilience Planning & Design, Inc. and resulted in better zoning protection for Franklin’s community well (the Wellhead Protection Area falls largely in Sanbornton) and high-value stratified drift aquifers in Sanbornton. This work included a significant effort to obtain public support through outreach. You can check out an overview of this project on YouTube.
In total, 11 towns worked to improve their local zoning to protect drinking water resources over the last year. You can contact NHDES’s Source Water Protection Program for groundwater protection guidance, including model zoning language as well as funding through the Local Source Water Protection Grant Program! More information can be found on the Source Water Protection webpage.