Elko City agrees to join Nevada's voluntary Source Water Protection Program

Allison Kramer of Resource Concepts Incorporated told the Elko City Council on Nov. 12 that Nevada's Integrated Source Water Protection Program is voluntary, nonregulatory and provides free technical assistance through the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection to help communities protect drinking water sources. Kramer noted Elko has maintained wellhead protection activities for more than 25 years and recommended countywide coordination to update source protection areas and inventories.

Kramer described typical program steps: forming a local planning team, performing a drinking-water source inventory, and developing action plans focused on education, signage and mitigation strategies. She said Resource Concepts would do the heavy lifting on plan writing and implementation at no cost to the city, but staff time (a few two-hour meetings over several months) is required. "NDEP has hired us as a technical assistance provider... we provide updates and plan developments and implementation at no cost to the community or the water system," Kramer said.

Council members asked whether the program is mandatory (Kramer said it is voluntary in Nevada; regulatory programs exist in other states) and what staff time commitment would be; Kramer said initial meetings (two- to three two-hour sessions over six months) would be sufficient to update inventories and draft a plan. A council motion to authorize a letter of support for Elko to participate in the Source Water Protection Program carried; councilmembers expressed support for countywide coordination and noted the city's 2013 plan should be updated.

Councilboard next steps: staff will prepare the letter of support and receive program materials from Resource Concepts; if adopted, the program will proceed with community input and a future return to council for plan adoption.