How large is the Wellhead Protection Area?
A WHPA can be many varying sizes depending on a number of factors. Some of these factors include the pumping rate, the surrounding geology and characteristics of the aquifer, the time of travel for pollutants. Michigan’s WHPP requires a 10 year time of travel to insure that if the groundwater were to become contaminated there would be adequate time to devise a plan to deal with the contamination before it reached the well. WHPAs may extend several thousand feet upgradient of the well to protect it.
