Fall 2006 - City of Coral Springs

Our Water
Where does it come from?
Florida’s local governments are at a crossroads, and their
next steps will have enormous environmental and financial
implications. The South Florida Water Management District
(SFWMD) is limiting the amount of water available to
municipalities for drinking water and lawn irrigation because
the majority of the water is needed for the Everglades
Restoration Project.
Coral Springs draws its water from the Biscayne Aquifer,
one of the largest and highest quality ground water sources
in the country. The Biscayne Aquifer is located in southeast
Florida and generally extends from Boca Raton through
Homestead and from the Everglades to the Atlantic Ocean.
It is in the cool depths of the earth, generally between
110 and 180 feet below ground surface and is constantly
replenished by rainwater, and through canals and lakes that
are operated by the SFWMD. Most cities in South Florida “dip
their straws” into the Biscayne Aquifer, and withdraw a limited
amount of water as permitted by the SFWMD.
“According to the new rules that have been established,
the City is not allowed to withdraw any additional water
to meet our future growth from the aquifer,” said Utilities
Superintendent Dave Moore. “Unless we demonstrate that it
does not affect the Everglades restoration project.”
The State and Federal Governments have joined forces
to restore the damage that draining the Everglades has
caused over the past century. In December 2000, President
Clinton signed the Water Resources Development Act, which
included the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan
(CERP). CERP is a guide to restore, protect, and preserve the
water resources of central and southern Florida. It will take
approximately 30 years to complete the project and will cost
in excess of $7.8 billion. The Everglades Restoration Project
is affecting everyone in South Florida, as SFWMD is asking
Utility Divisions to not pull additional water from the Biscayne
Aquifer and use alternative water supplies.
Coral Springs has four different utilities that supply water
and wastewater services to residents: the City-operated
Coral Springs Utilities Division and the independentlyoperated
Coral Springs Improvement District, North Springs
Improvement District and Royal Utilities.
The City of Coral Springs Utilities Division, which serves
the central part of the City, operates a water treatment plant
that prepares the water for drinking and other potable and
irrigation uses. Nineteen wells are scattered around the
central portion of the City that draw the water from the
Biscayne Aquifer for further treatment.
The customers of the City’s Utilities service area consume
an average 7 to 8 million gallons of water a day. The water
After water from the Biscayne
Aquifer gushes up from a well in the
City, where the water is then put
through many treatment processes
before being delivered to citizens.
plant runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is able
to process up to 16 million gallons of water each day.
According to Moore, future redevelopment in Coral Springs
may require an additional 1.5 million gallons a day.
As South Florida’s increasing demand for potable water
continues, several public water utilities have turned to the
Floridan Aquifer, a slightly salty water, which requires a
reverse osmosis treatment process to make the water safe for
drinking. “The Floridan Aquifer requires a completely different
treatment process than what we use now,” said Moore. “It
would cost approximately $13 million to build that treatment
facility and it wouldn’t be a very cost effective solution since
we would only draw 1.5 million gallons a day.”
Another option for additional water supply would be water
reuse, which involves taking domestic wastewater and giving
it a high degree of treatment. The water is then used for a
new, beneficial purpose, such as irrigation. Unfortunately,
Coral Springs does not have the capabilities of reusing water
and it would cost millions to put into place.
In May 2008, the City will renew its water use permit with
the SFWMD. The City will attempt to increase the current
average daily and maximum daily allocations to meet the
expected growing population and is currently in the works of
establishing their argument.
The cost of restoring the Everglades is high and the State
and Federal governments are paying those bills. However,
that is only part of the cost and municipalities will be
required to utilize alternative water supplies for urban uses if
their water permits are not increased.
Water is becoming scarce and inexpensive water supplies
can no longer be taken for granted.
This article is the first of a series, which will
delve further into water use, the treatment process,
and how you can help by conserving water.
environment
Watch CityTV Channel 25 Fall 2006 • Coral Springs • 11