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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Water Center

School of Natural Resources

Wellhead Protection Program


by Marty Link
Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality

Have you ever had a flu shot? It may have kept you from getting the flu or from getting a really severe case of the flu.

Wellhead protection is a little like that. Local communities can choose to do wellhead protection activities around wells supplying water to the public. These activities may protect the well from contamination and can save communities hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This is especially important in Nebraska where the vast majority of public water supply systems rely on groundwater for their primary source of drinking water.

Local wellhead protection plans have five main steps, which build upon each other:

  1. A wellhead protection area map showing where the public wells are pumping water from, based on aquifer and pumping conditions, for 20 years.
  2. An inventory of potential contaminant sources in the wellhead protection area (is there an old filling station, city dump or pesticides storage?).
  3. Management of potential contaminant sources in the wellhead protection area (options like zoning, ordinances, closing abandoned wells, educating the public about groundwater).
  4. Planning for new wells because of growth or emergencies, such as floods, tornadoes or contamination.
  5. Keeping the public involved and educated about their drinking water. This step is important throughout the wellhead protection process.

Who Can Help

In Nebraska, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) administers this program and has educational materials available. One of these is "The Contaminant Inventory Guidebook" (free from NDEQ), which teaches how to accomplish the second of the five steps listed above using volunteers.

The Nebraska Rural Water Association has a groundwater technician that can help small communities through the process, from map drawing and inventory through management options.

Many of Nebraska's 23 Natural Resources Districts have programs to help with wellhead protection. These include one-on-one assistance and costsharing on closing abandoned wells, installing monitoring wells, public education, etc. Other sources of help include the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension Division, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, NDEQ's Nebraska Mandates Management Initiative, The Groundwater Foundation's Groundwater Guardian program and others.