Community Profile: The City of Lafayette

Population served: 60,000

Lafayette has a municipally owned water supply. Its wells are located along the flood plain of the Wabash River, and draw water from the highly productive Teays River Aquifer. The city’s wells are surrounded by a busy urban area with numerous potential concerns for ground water safety. TCE contamination was discovered several years ago in one of the city’s wells. The past contamination is being treated.

Lesson to be learned: With good organization and planning, a task, even though it may seem huge, can be successfully completed.

Lafayette Wellhead Protection Planning

Wellhead protection plans are for everyone, and must be completed by all communities, no matter how large or small. Lafayette falls in the larger community category, but their success is proof that a community of any size can benefit from citizen involvement and community education.

Before the Lafayette wellhead protection planning team was even formed, the number of committees necessary was determined. Five committees were established, including a Contingency Committee, Management Committee, Source Committee, Delineation Committee and an Education Committee. In an effort to educate local public officials about the necessity of wellhead protection planning, the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce sponsored an informational meeting. Several public meetings were also held to attract members for the different committees.

In addition, several of the City’s departments also became involved, including employees from Water Works, Engineering, Parks, Fire, Police, the consulting engineering firm, Tippecanoe Soil and Water Conservation and a City Council member. Still, WHP plan organizers say that one of the more difficult aspects of wellhead protection planning has been recruiting volunteers for the wellhead protection planning teams.

Lafayette used the annual Ag-Days as a vehicle to educate Tippecanoe 4th-graders about the source of drinking water and how to avoid its contamination. They received assistance from the local cable television provider to produce a groundwater education video, in a style similar to the popular "Bill Nye, the Science Guy" educational TV series. This video is for use by area eighth grades and will be shown every year for a number of years, thus reaching a large portion of the future adult population of the Lafayette area. Education has been a key part of the Lafayette WHP process, shown by the team’s 24-member, very active, Education Committee.

Along with the well-established committees, the team also chose to hire a consultant. Dale Lehnig of the Lafayette City Engineers Office says that the consultant has been very valuable in keeping the WHP plan moving forward, and has also helped committees communicate and coordinate.

Through its many members and the resources drawn from many sources, Lafayette has completed and submitted the Phase I requirements to IDEM. With Phase II requirements in the works, Lafayette has proven that Wellhead Protection really is for everyone.