Response: County Not Ready for Toilet to Tap

The Southwest Florida Water Management District responds to the article posted on March 4th titled County Not Ready for Toilet to Tap

Re: County Not Ready for Toilet to Tap, March 4

I would like to point out some incorrect and misleading information in a recent guest column about the safety of reclaimed water and what Manatee County’s consideration of a comprehensive plan amendment really means for area residents.

Reclaimed water is safe and has been used throughout the United States for more than 100 years. Moreover, Florida has been using reclaimed water for more than 40 years without any reported illnesses and the use of reclaimed water is promoted in Florida state statutes. Reclaimed water is highly treated and used in more than 450 reclaimed water systems throughout the state for landscape irrigation of homes, common areas, schools, golf courses and agriculture as well as power plant cooling. In fact, Manatee County is the only county in the state that prohibits the beneficial use of reclaimed water for irrigation in certain areas.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the utilities within its 16-county region have been leaders in the growth of reclaimed water. The District has developed Florida’s largest and most aggressive reuse program by providing nearly $316 million for 294 reclaimed water projects in the region. Currently more than 50 percent of the wastewater in the region is being beneficially reused and our goal is 75 percent reuse by 2030.

The guest column brought up the issue of microconstituents such as hormones, steroids, pathogens, and personal care products in reclaimed water. The author was correct that trace amounts of microconstituents do exist in reclaimed water. However, what the column failed to mention is that a recent landmark study compared reclaimed water to pristine surface water and groundwater and found that there are no significant differences between them. Simply put, microconstituents such as pharmaceuticals, hormones, steroids and nutrients have multiple avenues for entering our water resources and now are part of our environment.

The city of Bradenton has requested that Manatee County change its comprehensive plan to allow the beneficial use of reclaimed water for irrigation in the Braden River watershed. This will allow the city to provide five million gallons per day of reclaimed water to Lakewood Ranch for landscape irrigation of homes, common areas and golf courses, reducing the amount of wastewater that the city of Bradenton disposes of and offsetting the use of potable water for irrigation in Lakewood Ranch.

Allowing reclaimed water to be used for landscape irrigation is completely different than indirect potable reuse or ”toilet to tap“ as the guest column claimed. There are no proposals for an indirect potable reuse project to supplement the city or the county’s drinking water supplies.

Our region has limited potable groundwater supplies. Conservation and the beneficial use of reclaimed water are two of the cornerstones to ensuring we have a sustainable water supply for both now and in the future. Therefore the District supports the city of Bradenton’s request for a comprehensive plan amendment to allow the beneficial use of reclaimed water for irrigation in the Braden River watershed.

I encourage residents to get the facts about reclaimed water by visiting our web site at http://www.WaterMatters.org/conservation/reclaimed or download our brochure on the history and safety of reclaimed water at http://www.WaterMatters.org/reclaimedwatersafety.