Maintaining the best possible water quality is the goal of every surface water source rotection program. Watershed management can play an important role in maintaining or enhancing water quality for both filtered and unfiltered systems.The AWWA Research oundation recently published a study on effective watershed management for surface water supplies. This article presents results of this investigation, which was based on a national survey of surface water systems and state primacy agencies and on case studies f 24 successful watershed management programs.