What is the best clean-up method? It depends on the situation, but most would agree that the best way to deal with groundwater contamination is not to contaminate it in the first place!

This brings us to the very important topics of groundwater protection and prevention of contamination. Clean-up methods take a lot of money and time to accomplish, and they usually can't clean up everything. We must try to do our best to protect groundwater from contamination in the first place.

There are many different ways that you can prevent contamination. These depend on where the groundwater is located, where it is used, and what dangers of contamination exist.

Prevention includes all of the following and more:

• Using strong containers for fuel and wastewater tanks.
• Knowing where to store chemical wastes so that they don't hurt anyone or the environment.
• Making sure that solid waste landfills are used properly and that there are warning systems to tell people if there is a leak.

Old storage container being replaced.

EXPLORE: Go to the Ground Water Primer EPA site and find at least 3 more things you or your family can do at home to prevent groundwater contamination.