Local drinking water protection planning: A model for increased community action and evaluation with communities in north-central Idaho

States are determining the protection zones of sources of municipal water sources through Safe Drinking Water Act Legislation and USEPA guidance. The development of voluntary drinking water protection plans is immanent all across the United States. Second order type social theoretic principles were applied in the development of a model for increasing participant involvement and effectiveness in community drinking water protection planning within existing state programs. Evaluation measures for use by communities and to provide information to state and federal administrations were developed through the results of a state drinking water survey and 2 field experiments. Twelve north-central Idaho communities participated in a mapping experiment that tested selection and use of spatial data that included the state-determined source protection zones for each locale. Four communities additionally participated in a planning experiment that tested the selection of techniques to improve community member awareness and participation.