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Fort Lauderdale Extends Search for Drinking Water, Rejects Floridan Aquifer

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 March 2006, 21:00 CST

By Brittany Wallman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Mar. 8--FORT LAUDERDALE -- The city will put off tapping into the brackish Floridan aquifer, hoping to team up with other governments on a new water source to irrigate lawns, run dishwashers and satiate thirsts.

Public Works Director Albert Carbon said he is working with Sunrise and the county utilities of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade to fulfill growing demands for more water. They hope to have a plan by June to shift away from using the Everglades and the Biscayne aquifer, the region's main drinking water supply.

No matter how the city decides to meet future water demands, customer bills are expected to rise.

That will affect Fort Lauderdale residents as well as customers serviced by the city in Tamarac, Oakland Park, Port Everglades, Wilton Manors, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and parts of unincorporated Broward.

Fort Lauderdale city commissioners on Tuesday accepted Carbon's recommendation to continue trying a team approach with other governments, rather than forging ahead on their own to tap the deep and somewhat salty Floridan aquifer, at a price of $26 million.

The South Florida Water Management District, controller of the area water, has strong restrictions on any extra withdrawals from the Biscayne Aquifer, because it's tied to the environmental health of the Everglades, which is undergoing a $7.8 billion restoration.

"We certainly want to continue to work with Fort Lauderdale to come up with a solution as soon as possible," said Scott Burns, a water district alternative supply official.

Burns noted that even with no increase in population, Fort Lauderdale's water demands would increase because it is switching to an improved filtration system that creates less drinkable water from raw water.

Fort Lauderdale and its 250,000 water customers already are drinking and irrigating their way to almost the maximum allowed from the Biscayne Aquifer.

The water district could penalize the city with fines or a building moratorium if the city maxes out at the Biscayne Aquifer and has no new water source in production.

The city hasn't ruled out drinking from the ocean, eventually. Carbon said converting ocean water for drinking is becoming a more cost-effective option, and one day might be feasible here.

"I think there's plenty of water available," said Carbon. "[The question is] where and how it's available."

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Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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