The Wellhead Protection Program (WHPP) is a community- based approach to protect ground water that supplies public water wells and wellfields. Section 1428 of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986 requires each State to develop and implement a Wellhead Protection Program that sets programmatic guidelines and regulations. WHPP has become the flagship for a broader initiative called Source Water Protection, which resulted from the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act and aims to protect all sources of drinking water, ground water and surface water.

USEPA approved State Wellhead Protection Programs include the following seven elements: the roles and duties of the participating entities at all levels of government; how to delineate the wellhead protection area; how to identify and inventory all potential sources of contamination; how to manage potential sources of contamination; contingency plans to protect local water supplies in the event of an emergency; how new wells will be brought into the program; and, how the public will participate in program development. These State WHPPs recognize that residents of the community are best equipped to address local ground water protection. Thus, it is the WHPPs developed at the local level that are the key to the success of the overall program.

Community residents then follow their respective state's approved WHPP. In general, there are five steps:

1. form a local team
2. define and map the protection area
3. identify and inventory potential sources of contamination
4. manage potential sources of contamination
5. provide for public education and participation
6. plan for the future

The Wellhead Protection Programs in each of U.S. EPA's 10 Regions support, assist, and provide tools to States, Tribes, and local governments in the development and implementation of WHPPs. While the States do most of the direct implementation of wellhead protection programs, the Regional WHP programs provide outreach and education tools, and work with other ground water related programs (Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Underground Storage Tanks, Underground Injection Control, and Public Water Supply) to tailor implementation of permitting, enforcement, and cleanup programs so that community wellhead protection programs can be effective.

For more information on State WHPP contacts, visit

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