Pennsylvania communities receive EPA award for protecting drinking water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday honored two Lancaster County, Pa., communities for protecting sources of drinking water used by more than 20,000 people.

EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin presented the agency’s 2012 regional Source Water Protection Award to the Warwick Township Municipal Authority and the Borough of Lititz at a ceremony at the Warwick Municipal Office

“Protecting the sources of our drinking water benefits public health, our environment, and our economic well-being as well as our quality of life,” said Garvin. “Warwick and Lititz have shown the way for more than a decade of working with farmers and others in taking responsible steps protecting drinking water supplies.”

The Source Water Protection Award recognizes organizations and communities that take extraordinary steps to protect drinking water sources in EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.Warwick and Lititz were recognized for their joint Wellhead Protection Program to protect groundwater sources from contamination. The communities were nominated for the award by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

“DEP is proud to nominate Warwick Township and Lititz Borough for their approach of working with local farmers,” DEP South-central Regional Director Lynn Langer said. “They have set the bar high for protecting drinking water, and hopefully other communities will follow their example.”