Groundwater: It’s at the Root of Safe Water Consumption
Every year, National Groundwater Awareness Week (March 9-15, 2025) advocates for the sustainable management and testing of groundwater to promote safe, reliable water sources. Groundwater provides a source for drinking water, irrigation and food production, making it a vital resource for rural communities. Without responsible, routine testing for contamination, however, groundwater can pose significant environmental and health risks that require immediate attention.
USDA Rural Development offers various programs that prioritize emergency health and sanitary issues. Through the Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant (ECWAG) program, USDA helps eligible communities prepare, or recover from, emergencies that threaten the availability of safe, reliable drinking water. Last fiscal year, Rural Development Water and Environmental Programs invested more than $14 million in rural communities through the ECWAG program.
In 2022, the Borough of Brooklawn in New Jersey used ECWAG funding to help eliminate high levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the local water treatment facility’s well water. A nearby industrial plant was responsible for the contamination, causing an emergency health and safety issue for the public drinking water supply that served about 2,000 people.
The Borough of Brooklawn used the grant funding to install a granular activated carbon filter treatment system to the existing water treatment plant and connect it to the public water system to remove harmful chemicals from the water supply. Because of these corrective measures, the water treatment plant could continue to provide clean water to its 718 residential and 80 commercial customers.
Stories like these exemplify the importance of National Groundwater Awareness Week, and advocacy for the groundwater industry at large. The more we protect our groundwater, the better we can protect our water supply and prevent public health emergencies. Check out this list of water infrastructure programs to learn how Rural Development is helping to improve both the water, and the quality of life, in rural communities across America.
