A Sole Source Aquifer (SSA) is an

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials ( gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characteris ...

that has been designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the sole or principal source of drinking water for an area. By definition, SSA is an aquifer that supplies at least 50% of the drinking water consumed in the area overlying the aquifer. There may be other factors to designate SSA. For example, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Kings and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

Counties are designated as SSA not because the aquifer of these areas are the sole or principal sources of drinking water for these counties; they are designated as SSA because the geographic boundaries of Kings and Queens Counties are within the recharge zone for the aquifers underlying the southeastern portion of Queens County. Groundwater beneath Manhattan and the Bronx is not used for drinking or non-potable purposes. These areas may have no alternative drinking water source(s) that could physically, legally and economically supply all those who depend on the aquifer for drinking water and therefore, if contamination occurs, using an alternative source would be extremely expensive. SSA designation works as a tool to protect drinking water supplies in these areas.

References

{{Aquifers Drinking water Aquifers

See also

References