Selection and Prioritization of Best Management Practices for Potential Sources of Contamination in a Wellhead Protection Area

Implementing best management practices (BMPs) is one of the key outcomes of a successful Source Water Protection program. BMPs are activities that can be implemented to reduce the risk of adverse future impacts to a public water supply. They can include structural activities such as building additional containment around storage vessels and nonstructural activities such as implementing land use restrictions. The objective of this paper is to discuss a new and innovative approach to evaluate, select and prioritize BMPs for multiple public water supply systems in Texas. For this project, a database prioritization and selection tool was developed and used to assist in screening BMPs for multiple public water systems in Texas. The BMP selection process included a three-tiered screening process that is described in detail. This tool differs from previous US EPA approaches in that it is streamlined and can be applied efficiently for multiple systems.