Land Use Offers Clues to Water
Quality
Much of the work of the Cape Cod Commission, the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection, local governments, and individual water suppliers has
focused on protecting water quality in public water supplies and on determining
potential locations for new wells. To identify potential threats to the water
supply, these organizations have mapped the zones of contribution (ZOCs) for
the supply wells so that land use in those zones can be restricted, if necessary,
to protect water quality in the wells. The ZOC is the land area above the aquifer
that contributes water to a well under the most severe pumping and recharge conditions
that can be realistically anticipated. Silent Spring Institute researchers look
closely at ZOCs for possible sources of contamination by chemicals that may be
linked to breast cancer. Because of this potential for contamination, public
water supplies are regularly monitored to ensure that they meet existing health
standards.
Maps for the towns of Eastham and Wellfleet are not included
because there is no public water distribution system for these
two towns. All residents of these towns have private drinking
water wells. ZOCs are shown for all wells for which they were
required to be delineated by state regulation.
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