Every day, the City of Springfield water utility provides about 9 million gallons of clean drinking water to the citizens and businesses of Springfield as well as several surrounding communities. We are fortunate to have year-round access to abundant clean drinking water pumped from an underground water source known as an aquifer. However, it is very important to protect this water source, because it is considered to have a high susceptibility to potential contamination. That means that chemicals and waste from the surface can potentially reach our drinking water.
This susceptibility results from our aquifer being “unconfined,” which means it does not have natural barriers (such as clay or bedrock) to protect it from surface pollution. The water level of our aquifer is also very near to the surface (approximately 20 feet below ground). Because of these factors, the businesses, homes, highways, and railroads located above the aquifer are potentially significant sources of contamination.
To keep our water safe, the City has developed a proactive plan to prevent contamination, including establishing a source water protection area. The source water protection area includes all of the land around our drinking water wells where water would take 5 years or less to move underground before reaching our water supply. This protection area has special rules to keep harmful things away from our future drinking water such as:
● What businesses can operate there
● How chemicals must be stored
● What kinds of development can happen
The City also monitors underground water quality so if any contamination ever did enter the aquifer, it could be identified and addressed before it reached our wells. These steps help make sure our water stays clean for everyone, now and in the future.
For more information about the Source Water Area Protection Plan, please contact the Springfield Water Treatment Plant at
937-525-5880.