Ever stop to wonder where your drinking water comes from? Whether or not it is safe to drink? Because, the majority of people receive their drinking water from groundwater supplies, we can think about our drinking water as ground water. Unlike surface water, groundwater does not typically flow in underground rivers or pool in underground lakes. Groundwater is water found in the spaces between rocks, layers of soil, or in crevices and cracks in rocks underground. Most groundwater in Vermont is not mapped. Contaminated groundwater is very difficult and expensive to clean up; the best solution is water protection, pollution prevention, and conservation. Groundwater can be threatened by salt piles, industrial pollution, landfills, junkyards, toxic spills, or fuel storage tanks.
To learn more about your drinking water, please visit the links below.
EPA: The Safe Drinking Water Act
EPA Citizens’ Guide to Ground Water Protection
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
Vermont Rural Water Association
In This Section
Floodplain Management
Invasive Species
Organizations
Permitting
Planning