In the far reaches of western Pennsylvania, hugging the state's border with Ohio and West Virginia, is a tiny sliver of land in central Beaver County that is Vanport Township.
But within the 1.2-square-mile township, a decades-old groundwater contaminant and an abandoned quarry that had been used as a dumping ground were a combined disaster waiting to happen.
These two major issues loomed large in this small township alongside the Ohio River, prompting local officials to take action before these threats to drinking water could do more harm. Vanport Township Municipal Authority and local township officials worked alongside experts at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to implement a Source Water Protection Plan designed to help the community protect its wells and safe, reliable drinking water.
The PA League of Women Voters Water Resources Education Network’s Water Policy News profiles the Vanport Township Municipal Authority in Beaver County and its efforts to safeguard reliable drinking water for the township's 1,400 residents and the more than 9,500 neighbors it serves, while educating future generations to preserve a safe water source.
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(Reprinted from the September edition of Water Policy News is now available from the PA League of Women Voters Water Resources Education Network. Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)