APPENDIX F
Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission
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Source Water Assessment Strategy
for the Ohio River
Draft
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The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission
October 1998
INTRODUCTION
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996 included a requirement that
states establish a source water assessment program (SWAP) to protect all public drinking water
supplies. As part of this requirement states need to set forth their strategic approach to conducting
the assessments, delineate source water areas for public water systems (PWSs), identify the origins
of regulated and certain unregulated contaminants in the delineated area, and determine the PWS's
susceptibility to contamination by the sources inventoried. States are also required to describe how
they will make the maximum practical effort to coordinate with other states, tribes, or nations in
completing assessments on an interstate basis.
ORSANCO's role in SWAP activities has been defined as providing a mechanism for interstate
cooperation and communication within the Ohio River Basin. In 1997, ORSANCO initiated a work
group, comprised of representatives of state drinking water agencies and members of ORSANCO's
Water Users Advisory Committee, to discuss interstate aspects of SWAP activities for the Ohio
River. As a result of this meeting, ORSANCO agreed to develop an approach for states to delineate
and inventory Ohio River source water. This approach would be incorporated into a report that
could be appended to states' individual SWAP plans and used as a minimum guideline for interstate
assessments. Therefore, the goal of this document is to provide states with a consistent approach to
conduct Ohio River source water assessments.
The Commission
The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) is an interstate water
pollution control agency that was established as a provision of and to implement the Ohio River
Valley Water Sanitation Compact, signed in 1948 by the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Commission consists of three
representatives from each state, appointed by their respective governors, and three members from the
federal government who are appointed by the President. A guiding principle of the Compact is that
pollution originating in one state shall not injuriously affect the waters of another state. Therefore,
ORSANCO manages and operates programs for water quality monitoring and assessment, assists in
emergency response management, has established pollution control standards for the Ohio River, and
facilitates interstate cooperation and coordination through an extensive committee structure (see
Figure 1). Due to the nature of Source Water Assessment activities on the Ohio River, the
Commission is uniquely positioned to facilitate interstate cooperation and participation to implement
this document.
The Basin
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The Ohio River Basin encompasses portions of 14 states in an area of more than 200,000
square miles, which constitutes over five percent of the total United States land mass. The Ohio
River itself, formed in Pittsburgh at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, is 981
miles long and flows through or borders six states - Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
and West Virginia (see Figure 2). Over 25 million people reside in the Ohio River Basin, or
approximately 10 percent of the total U.S. population. Of these, nearly three million people use the
Ohio River as a source of drinking water from 32 public water supply intakes (see Table 1).
Table 1. Ohio River Public Drinking Water Intakes.
Mile
State Intake
4.5
8.6
29.0
36.0
40.2
59.1
65.2
65.2
70.8
86.8
137.1
304.2
306.9
319.7
327.0
327.5
350.8
407.8
462.8
462.9
463.2
594.2
600.6
609.0
791.5
803.2
829.3
839.9
842.5
871.4
935.5
977.0
978.0
PA
PA
PA
PA
OH
OH
WV
OH
WV
WV
WV
WV
WV
KY
OH
KY
OH
KY
OH
KY
KY
KY
KY
IN
IN
KY
IN
KY
KY
KY
KY
IL
IL
Pumping Rate
Intake Depth Population
(MGD)
(Feet*)
Served
West View
Robinson Township
NOVA Chemical Corp.
Midland
East Liverpool
3.6
Toronto
Weirton
Steubenville
Hooverson Heights
Wheeling
Sistersville
Huntington
Huntington
Ashland
Ironton
Russell
Portsmouth
Maysville
Cincinnati
Kenton Co. (Ft. Thomas)
Newport
Louisville
Louisville
Indiana Cities (New Albany)
Evansville
Henderson
Mt Vernon
Morganfield
Uniontown
Sturgis
Paducah
Cairo
Cairo
20.0
3.0
0.12
3.5
15
15
15
10
0.3
3.2
6.5
0.4
8.0
0.2
13.0
17.5
8.5
2.0
2.0
7.0
2.5
124.0
40.0
12.0
115.0
5.0
30.0
6.6
2.0
2.2
0.1
0.35
6.6
1.2
26
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200,000
10,800
1,200
13,500
19
24
18
8-10
7
8
15-21
6,800
22,000
40,000
5,000
60,000
2,000
90,000
23
18
15
18
12
27
30
22
20
10-30
15
4
30
35
28.3
5
18
15
8
35,900
12,700
14,500
50,000
13,000
800,000
180,000
25,000
720,000
35,000
161,000
42,000
8,300
10,000
1,000
4,200
47,000
5,800
*Below normal pool stage.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The development of a strategy for Ohio River source water assessments involves participation
from state water agencies, ORSANCO, and ORSANCO's Water Users Advisory Committee
(WUAC), which made up of representatives of Ohio River drinking water utilities. ORSANCO's
main role in SWAP is interstate coordination not implementation. State water agencies are
responsible for conducting SWAPs on interstate water systems. Following are the roles of each of
these entities.
ORSANCO
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Develop a source water assessment strategy containing minimum procedures
for a consistent approach to assessments on the Ohio River.
Generate GIS coverages of delineation areas along the Ohio River.
Provide technical/public information workshops for groups conducting Ohio
River source water assessments.
Provide technical guidance and facilitate an exchange of information/data
among state water agencies for source water assessment activities.
Incorporate general education on source water assessment activities into
ORSANCO's public information work.
SWAP Work Group
1.
2.
3.
Provide guidance, technical assistance, and direction for the development of
a Source Water Assessment Strategy for the Ohio River.
Review and adopt/revise the submitted document.
Coordinate ORSANCO's Ohio River activities with individual state SWAPs.
ORSANCO Water Users Advisory Committee
1.
2.
Provide technical guidance for ORSANCO and state water agencies in
development of an Ohio River Source Water Assessment plan.
Review the submitted Ohio River Source Water Assessment plan.
State Drinking Water Agencies
1.
Provide guidance, direction, and technical assistance in development of a
source water assessment strategy for the Ohio River.
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2.
3.
4.
5.
Conduct public reviews and address comments regarding requirements and
progress of Ohio River source water assessments.
Implement Ohio River Source Water Assessments using ORSANCO's
document as a minimum guideline.
Conduct susceptibility determinations for portions of the river within their
border.
Communicate and exchange information with adjacent state water agencies
regarding interstate concerns.
DELINEATION OF PROTECTION AREAS
The focus of this document is on Ohio River surface water intakes. Therefore, ground water
wells adjacent to the Ohio River will not be incorporated in Ohio River delineations. In addition,
tributaries are only included to the extent that they affect Ohio River source water. Delineations of
tributary intakes will not be conducted in this approach.
Due to the size and complex nature of the Ohio River, ORSANCO recommends using a
tiered-delineation system consisting of three protection zones (see Figure 3 – to be added). The
purpose of this tiered-approach is to define the level of source inventory within the Ohio River Basin.
The following recommendations are intended to serve as minimum guidelines for state water agencies.
Zone I -
Zone of Critical Concern
Extends ¼ mile below a water intake to 25 miles upstream in the Ohio River and
major tributaries identified in U.S. EPA Reach File 1. The lateral extent includes ¼
mile on both sides of the river bank and major tributaries.
Zone II -
Zone of High Concern
Extends ¼ mile below a surface water intake, upstream, to ¼ mile below the next
Ohio River intake. Major tributaries are incorporated within a 25 mile distance
upstream from the intake. The lateral extent includes all 14-digit hydrologic units
adjacent to the banks of the Ohio River and major tributaries.
Zone III -
Source Water Area
The entire portion of the Ohio River Basin upstream from a surface water intake. The
25 mile distance used for Zone I is based upon a 5 hour time-of-travel estimate using
maximum Ohio River velocities near surface water intakes from February, 1995 to
February, 1998. At a minimum, by using this approach, the entire watershed area
upstream from an intake is classified as Zone III. However, within this area Zone I
is the "zone of critical concern", or the area within which a contamination event will
quickly affect the water supply. This corresponds to any source directly adjacent to
the Ohio River and major tributaries within a 25 mile upstream distance from the
surface water intake. In addition, Zone II is a "zone of high concern" which includes
a wider buffer consisting of all 14-digit HUCs adjacent to the Ohio River and
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incorporating major tributaries within 25 miles upstream from an intake. While
protection responsibility of an intake ends ¼ mile below the next upstream intake,
communication channels should be established to warn lower intakes of an upstream
contamination event.
CONTAMINATION INVENTORY
Each Ohio River state is responsible for performing potential contaminant source inventories
for drinking water intakes within their respective boundaries. ORSANCO will then coordinate an
information exchange between neighboring states so that the interstate aspects of SWAP activities
can be addressed. To facilitate a data transfer between states, a minimum information level was
established (see Table 2). These requirements serve as minimum guidelines for states where
information on point sources are available. State agencies may chose to provide additional data
beyond these minimum requirements.
Table 2. Required inventory information for point sources.
Facility Name
Facility Address
Facility Contact/Telephone Number
Facility ID Number
Facility NPDES Permit Number
Latitude/Longitude
Chemical/Chemicals
Quantity Information
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code
In addition, for Ohio River public water intakes potential contaminate sources should be
inventoried in a tiered-approach. In Zone I, all potential contaminant sources to a surface water
supply identified in Table 3 should be inventoried. Potential sources can be found using existing
national, regional, and state databases and through field verification. In Zone II, inventories should
focus mainly on existing databases and "localized" in-state information resources to identify sources
in Table 3. Due to the size of this zone a field component to identify sources of potential
contamination would be impractical. However, since this area may require future management
activities, a high level of source detail is required. In Zone III, only critical areas of major activity
need to be located. At a minimum, sources contained in U.S. EPA's Envirofacts Warehouse web
home page (www.epa.gov/enviro/) should be identified.
SUSCEPTIBILITY
It is the responsibility of each state to use available information in determining the
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susceptibility of their surface water intakes to contamination. ORSANCO recognizes that states have
their own unique methods to determine susceptibility and developing a similar approach for this
analysis on the Ohio River would be complex. Therefore, by ORSANCO coordinating an interstate
exchange of information, each state will be equipped to determine susceptibility in their own style.
Table 3. Potential Sources of Surface Water Contamination
Non-point Sources
- Agriculture
- Forestry
- Urban runoff
- Mining
- Construction
Solid Waste Facilities
- Landfills (active, closed, abandoned)
- Open dumps
- Direct septic discharges
Superfund Sites
NPL sites
State Superfund sites
Permitted Dischargers
Water Treatment Plants
Barge Transfer Facilities
River Terminals
Cargo
Fuel
Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs)
Underground Storage Tanks
- Hazardous substance tanks
- Petroleum tanks
Hazardous Waste Sites
- Generators
- Transporters
- TSD facilities (landfills, surface
impoundments, waste lagoons)
Miscellaneous Sites
Bridges
Pipelines
Railroads
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