he Ann Arbor Municipal Airport means business when it comes to protecting groundwater.

Four public groundwater wells that contribute to Ann Arbor's drinking water supply are situated on the grounds of the airport, Michigan's eighth busiest overall with 60,000 flights logged annually.

"It's vital for us to do all we can," said John Wolter, who heads the Ann Arbor Airport Business Association committee and participates in forums to safeguard sensitive areas from groundwater contamination. "The flying community, especially because we're in the air and can see some of the effects of pollution, are very committed to protecting this resource."

To reduce the risks to groundwater, aging fuel tanks at the airport were replaced with double-bottom tanks that insulate the contents from contaminating the ground. One company, Bijan Air, outfitted a new hangar with a specialized floor containing connections to catch tanks to hold fluids, fuels and solvents.

The airport has plans to build additional hangars. Wolter envisions using clay from the construction to create a natural "cap" for a nearby gravel pit identified as a direct connection to the groundwater aquifer below. It's another way of reducing threats to the groundwater below.

Other local governmental units are working proactively with their local businesses to help protect the environment, including groundwater supplies.

For example, the Kalamazoo County Human Services Department, Environmental Health Bureau has developed the Business Environmental Education and Assistance Program (BEEAP). BEEAP is an educational outreach program offering assistance to businesses in sorting out the sometimes complicated pollution prevention and groundwater protection requirements they may have to meet.

The Human Services Department is being assisted by the Kalamazoo Area Groundwater Education Committee (KAGEC). KAGEC is an advisory group made up of representatives from small and large businesses, city and county government, the Western Michigan University-GEM Center, and environmental organizations. KAGEC is the sounding board which will help keep the program "on track" in meeting the environmental educational needs of businesses in Kalamazoo.

This non-regulatory program focuses on small businesses who do not necessarily have the staff, nor the resources to devote to environmental issues. Components of BEEAP include:

• workshops for business owners on environmental issues;
• development and distribution of educational materials;
• free, voluntary, confidential audits of businesses to identify potential environmental problems;
• assistance to businesses seeking information; and
• its own award program to recognize businesses that exhibit exemplary efforts in pollution prevention and groundwater protection efforts.

Once contaminated, groundwater is difficult and expensive to clean up. Preventing pollution from occurring is the most cost effective strategy. That's why businesses are an important community partner to protect groundwater resources and why programs like BEEAP are so important. But by working with programs like BEEAP, the businesses also can protect their company's overall fiscal health, as well as the physical health of their employees and neighbors.

Small businesses are involved in about 20 to 25 percent of Michigan's 2,600 sites of environmental contamination. Old factories, automotive shops, dry cleaners, and a host of businesses, often unknowingly, provide pathways to environmental contamination.

A primary source of environmental contamination comes from some of the 6,500 leaking underground storage tank sites in Michigan. About 90 percent of those sites involve small businesses. Better storage practices and facilities, with secondary containment features, can prevent spills and leaks.

An estimated 5,000 to 6,000 facilities in Michigan have improper floor drains discharging to the ground or groundwater. These discharges send chemical solvents, oils, contaminated wash water and other untreated pollutants into surface and groundwaters. Often owners are unaware that their floor drains, trench drains and sinks may discharge to groundwater via a septic system, dry well or sand pit.

Here are some examples of what businesses -- from the neighborhood dry cleaner to major manufacturers -- can do to conserve water and protect groundwater:

• Replace toxic raw materials with non-toxic raw materials wherever possible.
• Replace toxic operational supplies, such as cleaners and solvents, with non-toxic materials wherever possible.
• Improve production process efficiency so that less raw material ends up as waste that must be disposed. Reuse samples in production.
• Encourage employees to think "waste reduction." Better yet, include them in the planning process - they have good ideas. Give them an economic incentive to reduce waste.
• Implement an aggressive equipment maintenance program to prevent leaks. Periodically, check tanks, seals, pipe joints and other equipment for leaks.
• Install a catch basin in loading and unloading areas. Nearly one-third of all accidental spills occur at loading docks. Keep rainwater and dirt out of the catch basis.
• Store raw materials under a roof or other protective cover and on a concrete or asphalt paved surface surrounded by a dike.
• Laundromats can place washing machines on a slightly-slanted floor, so that accidental leaks will run to a collection area, where workers can easily gather the waste materials for reclamation or proper disposal.
• Laundromats can put up signs asking customers to limit the use of bleaches, home degreasers and other harsh chemicals.
• Product substitution: Using earth-friendly products can eliminate disposal headaches and contamination worries. Cycle Cellar, an Ann Arbor bicycle company, has moved away from petroleum-based solvents to a solvent derived from citrus rinds.
• Conserve water. Alpha Metal Finishing, of Dexter, installed simple flow meters to regulate its rinse water flow rates. Wastewater discharges dropped from an average of 40,000 gallons per day to approximately 20,000 gallons per day.
• Printing shops can switch to non-toxic inks, free of heavy metal pigments. Batch similar printing orders using the same ink to minimize clean-up between ink changes.
• Vehicle maintenance and repair shops can require maintenance personnel to wash parts at cleaning stations that are designed to capture and reuse the cleaning material.
• Make sure employees are following the manufacturer's directions when mixing chemicals to avoid using more than needed and making materials more hazardous than necessary. Or, install automated mixing systems.
• Photo finishing operations can use counter-current rinsing in photo developing to minimize the disposal of contaminated water.