What is MCWEC?
The Marion County Wellfield Education Corporation (or MCWEC) is a not-for-profit corporation established in 1996 by the Marion County Wellfield Protection Zoning Ordinance to help support the prevention of contamination to the groundwater resources of Marion County, Indiana through public awareness and education.
As part of that mission, MCWEC provides businesses with technical support to improve chemical and waste management practices to minimize the likelihood of releases into the aquifers supplying drinking water.
MCWEC is funded by the water utilities of Marion County (Citizens’ Energy, City of Lawrence, and Speedway Waterworks) through water use fees with additional support from the City-County Council of Marion County and Indianapolis.
Mission: To prevent contamination to the valuable groundwater resources of Marion County through public awareness and education.
MCWEC’s responsibilities include
- Educating the public about ground water concerns and wellfield protection
- Educating and providing technical assistance to businesses in Wellfield Protection Districts as to the proper use and storage of chemicals, as well as general wellfield education
- Maintaining a database of non-residential land-users and potential contamination sources located within the Marion County wellfields
- Evaluating the effectiveness of wellfield protection program components
Who makes up MCWEC?
The MCWEC Board of Directors is made up of representatives from
- Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD),
- Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD),
- Water utilities staff (Citizen’s Energy Group, City of Lawrence Utilities, and Speedway Water Works)
- Selected wellfield community representatives.
Who are Mundell & Associates?
Mundell & Associates is a small, local environmental consulting firm contracted by MCWEC to provide free assessments, education and technical assistance to businesses located within the wellfields. Their expertise in environmental business practices, facility design, spill prevention and response, and environmental control for groundwater protection has helped hundreds of businesses to reduce their liabilities associated with operations.
The MCWEC has no regulatory authority and is only interested in the education of best management practices for groundwater protection.
