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| Protecting Idaho's Water Quality |
| DEQ's Water Quality Division is responsible
for assuring that the state's surface, ground, and drinking water
resources meet state water quality standards. Barry
Burnell, (208) 373-0194, is the administrator of this division.
Areas of emphasis include: |
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Setting
Water Quality Standards and Providing Clean Water Act Section 401
Certification |
Idaho
adopts water quality standards to protect public health and welfare,
enhance the quality of water, and serve the purposes of the Clean
Water Act. These standards are the benchmarks DEQ uses to know if
it is doing its job to protect Idaho's surface water.
Any project that requires
a federal permit or license under the Clean Water Act, such as a
license to operate a hydroelectric dam, a National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System permit, or a Clean Water Act Section 404 dredge
and fill permit, requires a Clean Water Act Section 401 certification.
The certification states that the project will not cause a violation
of state water quality standards. |
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Staff
Contacts |
| Don
Essig, Water Quality Standards Lead, (208) 373-0119 |
| Johnna Sandow, Water Quality Standards Analyst, (208) 373-0163 |
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Monitoring,
Assessing, and Reporting on Surface Water Quality |
| DEQ's Surface Water Program routinely
measures and assesses the levels of pollutants in surface waters such
as rivers and streams. The program develops analytical tools, provides
guidance for stream and river water quality evaluations, monitors
protocols and schedules, and writes and submits federally required
reports. Regional office staff perform on-the-ground water quality
testing and data collection. |
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Developing and
Implementing Water Quality Improvement Plans |
When
water quality fails to meet state water quality standards, regional
office staff work with communities, industry, and citizen groups
to develop water quality improvement plans known as total maximum
daily loads (TMDLs). These plans outline the actions needed to restore
impaired water bodies to a healthy fishable, swimmable condition.
Surface Water staff coordinate the overall TMDL program; regional
office staff develop and write the individual TMDLs.
The Nonpoint Source Management
Program provides grants to states, territories, and tribes to support
a wide variety of water quality improvement activities. |
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Protecting
the Quality of Public Drinking Water |
Working
with public health districts, DEQ's Drinking Water Program assists
public drinking water systems in complying with state requirements,
conducts sampling surveys and on-site visits to prevent public health
problems, reviews water system plans and specifications, conducts
training sessions, publishes informational brochures and the quarterly
Idaho Drinking Water Newsletter, and contracts for statewide operator
training classes. DEQ also works with public water systems to assure
that their systems are secure and prepared to respond to emergencies.
In addition, DEQ assesses
potential contaminant threats to Idaho's drinking water sources.
DEQ completed assessments on all recognized public water sources
in May 2003; new sources are assessed as they come on-line. The
completed source water assessments summarize the likelihood of individual
drinking water sources becoming contaminated and serve as a foundation
for public water systems to prepare drinking water protection plans
and implement protection measures. |
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Staff
Contacts |
| Lance
Nielsen, Drinking Water Manager, (208) 373-0291 |
| Don
Lee, Assistant Drinking Water Manager, (208) 373-0289 |
| Tom
Aucutt, Planning and Outreach Manager, (208) 373-0269 |
| Tom
John, Microbiology Rules Manager, (208) 373-0191 |
| Jerri
Henry, Chemical Rules Manager, (208) 373-0471 |
| Curtis
Stoehr, SDWIS State Analyst, (208) 373-0542 |
| Joan
Thomas, Administrative Assistant, (208) 373-0409 |
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Protecting Ground
Water Resources |
| More than 95% of the water used by Idaho households
comes from ground water. DEQ is responsible for protecting the quality
of ground water in Idaho and relies on a combination of programs to
protect ground water from pollution, clean up degraded ground water,
and monitor and assess ground water quality. DEQ's ground water policy
is to maintain and protect the existing high quality of Idaho's ground
water and restore degraded ground water where feasible to support
ground water beneficial uses. |
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Staff
Contacts |
| Ed
Hagan, Ground Water Manager, (208) 373-0356 |
| Tonia
Mitchell, Senior Environmental Hydrogeologist, (208) 373-0250 |
| Jessica Atlakson, Environmental Hydrogeologist, (208) 373-0121 |
| Amy Williams, Source Water Assessment
Coordinator, (208) 373-0115 |
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Providing Guidance
for Managing Storm Water |
| Storm water is water from rain or melting snow that
does not immediately soak into the ground. Storm water discharges
are generated by runoff from land and impervious areas such as paved
streets and parking lots and can contain pollutants in quantities
that could adversely impact water quality. DEQ provides technical
guidance for the selection and site design of storm water best management
practices to manage the quantity and quality of storm water runoff. |
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Staff
Contacts |
| Johnna Sandow, Water Quality Standards Specialist, (208)
373-0163 |
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Establishing Standards
for On-Site Wastewater Systems (Septic Systems) |
| Households and commercial facilities that are not
served by public sewer systems depend on on-site (decentralized) systems
to treat and dispose of wastewater. DEQ has established minimum standards
for the design, construction, siting, and use of these systems. |
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Issuing Wastewater-Land
Application Permits |
| Permits are designed to protect surface and ground
water resources by establishing limits on the amount of wastewater
that facilities and industries may land-apply as a regular part of
their operations. Regional and state office staff develop wastewater-land
application permits, provide technical assistance to facilities and
industries, conduct inspections, and enforce permits as necessary
to assure compliance with water quality standards. |
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Providing Grants
and Loans |
| Among the ways DEQ works to protect public health
is by providing grants and low-interest loans to help public drinking
water and wastewater systems plan, construct, update, and maintain
their facilities. DEQ's Loan Program coordinates and oversees this
effort. |
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Staff
Contact |
| Tim Wendland, Loan Program Manager, (208) 373-0439 |
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