Is Florida's growth tapping out clean drinking water? Signs point to 'yes.' | Editorial

We'reNo. 46: Turn on your spigot and the expectation is for clear, safe tap water. Yet, Florida's reliance on groundwater has pushed our state into the nation's bottom-five tier for drinking water quality, according to a survey by Water Defense, a Utah-based nonprofit that measures water quality. Rapid growth and pollution seeping into groundwater continue to be a problem here.

The top five states: Oregon, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

Most of Florida's tap water comes from underground aquifers, which are surrounded by limestone and soil. Unfortunately, that soil and limestone shell can't keep everything out of the aquifers, as agricultural runoff, saltwater intrusion, sewage and septic tank leakage have already shown.

Florida's tap water is usually safe. County and municipal water treatment facilities tend to that. But our state's primary source of drinking water isn't always protected by soil and limestone. It's susceptible to contamination. That's why, the state's recent request to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow the radioactive waste byproduct of fertilizer to be used to as filler in Florida road construction projects raises grave concerns about pollution.

More: How your Palm Beach County state lawmakers vote on toxic byproduct for road construction.

According to the Water Defense report on Florida, the state's drinking water is vulnerable to a wide range of contaminants, including bacteria from leaky septic tanks, arsenic and hexavalent chromium from phosphate mining and lead and copper from aging plumbing systems. Hard water, calcium and magnesium in the tap water, are particular problems in Jacksonville, Tampa and West Palm Beach.

As Florida grows, so do the threats to its drinking water

Water Defense isn't the only warning that Florida must do more to protect its most precious natural resource. The Tampa Bay Times in "Is Florida's water 'dirtier' under DeSantis?" detailed the trend of pollution in Florida's lakes, streams, estuaries and coastal waters. The story revealed that Florida Department of Environmental Protection reports on water quality under the federal Clean Water Act showed that, in 2018, 2.5 million acres of water across the state were not suitable for drinking or recreation. That number declined in 2020 but grew to 3.1 million acres in 2022.

Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation that opens the door for a radioactive byproduct of phosphate production to be used in road construction projects. The measure comes as the industry struggles to store about 500 tons of phosphogypsum, some of which has already leaked into Tampa Bay and aquifers in the western part of the state. The final decision rests with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, but the concern of contamination remains.

Give the Governor credit for at least addressing a problem that predates his time in office. His administration has put $40 million to address the issue and revived the Blue Green Algae Task Force to address the red tide crisis along Florida's west coast. Still, more must be done.

As Florida continues to grow, managing water consumption will become even more critical and expensive. A report by Florida Tax Watch shows that water use statewide is expected to increase by 14% between 2020 and 2040. The state will need an estimated $201.5 billion for storm water management and wastewater treatment services.

Florida Tax Watch has come up with an idea state lawmakers should seriously consider. The agency proposes improving the way the state addresses water issues by developing a more coordinated, comprehensive, longer-term process to assess, select and manage water infrastructure projects, much like the way the Florida Department of Transportation manages road projects.

The idea has merit. It should go without saying that better regulation and management of Florida's drinking water should be an overwhelming priority in our rapidly growing state.

CONSIDER THE SOURCE: Water Defense is a nonprofit agency that provides information, research, and product guides to improve water purity.

Editor's Note:RANKING FLORIDA is a series of editorials to show how our state ranks nationally on a variety of issues that resonate with Floridians.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida at risk of tapping out?