The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is offering a grant program to support source water protection projects, encompassing both groundwater and surface water sources. This initiative aligns with the DHHS's mission to safeguard public health by ensuring access to safe and clean drinking water. The program aims to encourage proactive measures that protect and improve the quality of drinking water sources throughout the state, preventing contamination and promoting sustainable water management practices.
The target beneficiaries of this grant program are community and non-profit, non-community public water systems. This includes a broad range of entities such as water utilities, mobile home parks, apartment buildings, nursing homes, and schools. The overarching impact goal is to enhance the safety and security of drinking water for Maine residents by supporting projects that directly address potential threats to source water quality and system integrity.
The program prioritizes projects demonstrating a commitment to ongoing source protection. For surface water, this includes developing or updating watershed management plans, establishing local protective ordinances, implementing drinking water education and public outreach programs, and developing/implementing lake monitoring programs. For groundwater, priorities include preparing or updating wellhead protection plans, establishing local protective ordinances, developing or implementing drinking water education programs, establishing or enabling source monitoring, and identifying/removing potential contamination sources.
Expected outcomes include a measurable improvement in source water quality, increased community awareness and engagement in water protection efforts, and the establishment of robust protective measures at the local level. Specifically, projects should lead to the development of comprehensive plans, implementation of effective ordinances, and the removal or mitigation of contamination risks, thereby directly contributing to the long-term health and safety of drinking water supplies.
The DHHS's strategic priority, as evidenced by this grant, is to invest in preventative measures that secure drinking water sources, thereby reducing the need for costly remediation efforts in the future. The underlying theory of change is that by empowering public water systems with funding and resources to implement proactive protection strategies, the state can achieve sustainable improvements in drinking water quality and public health outcomes, fostering a resilient water infrastructure across Maine.
