Tell the Sussex County Council that this is what they need to do to protect drinking water.
"Wellhead Protection Ordinances
Wellhead and source water protection involves preventing the pollution of the groundwater, lakes, rivers, and streams that serve as sources of drinking water for local communities. Wellhead and source water protection ordinances help safeguard community health and reduce the risk of contamination of water supplies. When drafting an ordinance aimed at protecting these sources, the drinking water supplies can be divided into two general sources: (1) aquifers and wells (groundwater) and (2) lakes and reservoirs (surface water). Wellhead protection areas and excellent recharge areas are two examples of wellhead protection ordinances that seek to protect groundwater sources. Water supply watershed districts and lake watershed overlay districts are examples of local management tools that provide protection to surface water supplies by restricting land uses around a reservoir used for drinking water.
Communities may take for granted that a plentiful supply of high-quality drinking water will be available. However, drinking water sources, whether they are from groundwater or surface water, or both, are a vulnerable natural resource that needs to be protected. To ensure that these drinking water sources are protected most effectively, an ordinance should contain several basic concepts.
First, planning should be done on a scale that ensures protection of the whole wellhead protection area and excellent recharge area for that source water. For surface waters, communities may wish to create overlay zoning districts that have boundaries large enough to protect both the source water resources and the tributaries and streams that contribute to the resource. For groundwater, communities should include the entire area that recharges any aquifer.
Second, an ordinance should also include procedures for review of proposed projects within a protection area to verify that the project is consistent with the ultimate goal of the ordinance. This might include requiring applicants to submit geotechnical and hydrological analyses to determine the potential impacts to water quality and the submission of spill control plans for businesses performing potentially contaminating activities.
Finally, the ordinance should contain language explaining the mechanisms for enforcement of the requirements of the ordinance. Civil and criminal penalties that may apply for failure to obey should also be included."
