Water Quality Is a Land Issue

Since the 1980s, we have invested $17 million to protect nearly 5,000 acres of watershed land in the region so we can maintain the high level of water quality for our customers. (See map of region). Buying and protecting watershed land is effective in preventing the degradation of water quality and helps to minimize treatment expenses. Simply put: Keeping this land undeveloped is essential because the better the quality of the source water flowing into our reservoirs, the fewer contaminants that need to be removed to protect drinking water.
Over the years, to permanently protect watershed land in our region, we have purchased land outright or have secured conservation easements. We have also joined with other non-profit environmental organizations to successfully connect scattered parcels of forested watershed lands into a network of open space to protect drinking water. The timeline on the inside back cover reflects our efforts over the past two decades.

Although much of the land adjacent to reservoirs is already owned by us, there is an additional estimated 3,000 acres of privately owned watershed land in our region that is desirable for protection. Acquiring this land requires careful planning as well as adequate funding.

Glossary

Aquifer: An underground layer of rock, gravel, or sediment containing usable quantities of water.

Conservation Easement: A legal agreement that prohibits or limits certain kinds of development on a particular property while allowing the landowner to continue to own it and utilize the land.

Groundwater: Fresh water found beneath the earth’s surface (usually in aquifers); often used to supply drinking water to wells and springs.

Reservoir: A pond, lake or basin—either natural or artificial—for storage of water.

Source Water: Untreated water from streams, reservoirs or aquifers used for public water supply.

Watershed: The land area from which water drains into a water body such as a stream or reservoir.

Continue to Page 3 of 5: Water Quality Is Managing Land Assets

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The Land We Need for the Water We Use is available as a PDF download in three sizes:

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