Save Our Aquifer, situated at Rockledge, Florida, is organized to protect the Floridan aquifer system and Underground Sources of Drinking Water (USDW), promote awareness, educate the public, elected officials and agency staff, and conduct other such related activities necessary to its mission.

About the threat to the aquifer in Brevard County

Click to E-MAIL PORT AUTHORITY PETITION to governing agency FDEP.

Thanks to everyone who attended the May 4th Forum on ASR wells. Thank you Jim Egan and Dr. Randall Parkinson for representing SOA at the Forum.
Some of the highlights of the Forum:
1. The high rates of arsenic that were released at the Jerry Sellars ASR well in Cocoa, during cycle testing in 2006, and the low recovery rates were provided by the Save Our Aquifer panel.
2. The City's panel agreed with FDEP in concluding that ASR wells are "experimental".
3. One incorrect statement that was repeated by the City of Rockledge panel was that the water currently in the aquifer is not potable, and injecting sewage wastewater would make the water in the aquifer more potable!

ABOUT: Canaveral Port Authority ASR wells. On April 29, 2009, Save Our Aquifer moved the No ASR wells sign campaign beach side to promote awareness about the Canaveral Port Authority (CPA) wastewater ASR wells. The CPA is proposing to seek a major permit modification to their cycle testing injection permit issued by the Florida DEP. The permit would allow the Port to annually inject 150,000,000 gallons of excess partially treated sewage from the City of Cape Canaveral's Wastewater Treatment Plant. The contaminated wastewater would be injected 35-60 feet below land surface. The geology of the injection zone at the Port consists of sand, shell and a 5 foot layer of silty/clay. The Port is surrounded by waters of the Indian River Lagoon system, Atlantic Ocean, and the Port. The 40 foot deep channel at the Port is within the same depth as the injection zone, Cycle testing this ASR well with potable water last year, showed arsenic levels in the recovered water spiked above safe drinking water standards.

ABOUT: The City of Rockledge plans to seek a cycle testing injection permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to inject 120 -180 million gallons a year of partially treated sewage, 370-470 feet below, directly into the Floridan aquifer under the guise of "Aquifer Storage and Recovery" (ASR). In preparation for this injection permit, the City initiated a ban on all potable water wells within a 1-mile radius of the Rockledge Sewage Treatment Facility located at 1700 Jack Oats Blvd. The ban affects more than 2100 residential homes. The ASR well threatens to contaminate local wells and the Indian River Lagoon, an Estuary of National Significance. No public hearing regarding the ASR injection well has been held. Over 500 concerned property owners in Rockledge have responded to Save Our Aquifer (SOA), expressing their concerns over the proposed aquifer injections and ban on potable water wells. Rockledge residents are concerned about the loss of their property and water rights, contamination of their wells and the Indian River Lagoon. City of Rockledge is expected to submit their injection permit application to FDEP summer 2009. Public Demonstrations were held on March 4, 2009, and on April 1, 2009 at Rockledge City Hall, to ask our local officials to stop this dangerous plan and "Keep Sewage Out!" WATCH the SLIDE SHOW at the bottom of this page.


Aquifer cross-section from Maddox et al. 1992. Florida's Ground Water Quality Monitoring Program: Background Hydrogeochemistry. Florida Geology Special Publication No. 34. Injections into Florida's aquifer system, whether for "ASR" or other injection wells (like treated sewage), can result in migration in any direction (horizontally and vertically) into streams, lakes, wetlands, and even Florida's coastal waters. Florida's "ASR" wells and other injection wells (like treated sewage) are constructed near streams, lakes, wetlands, and Florida's coastal waters. Injection wells located close to those surface water resources means that whatever is injected can migrate rapidly into those surface waters.

Animation and quote from S.T. Bacchus: http//www.floridasos.com/asr/

THERE IS NO UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WELL! If injection is permitted, 180 million gallons of partially treated sewage will be annually pumped into the drinking water aquifer, and this currently potable groundwater will be contaminated FOREVER!

Proposed Rockledge ASR well (click on photo to enlarge)
Proposed Rockledge ASR well
(The blue circle represents the "radius of influence," 835 ft., while the green circle is the radius of influence plus 50%, or 1252 ft. This is for injection of 120 m. gals. It is unknown how these areas will expand over time, given less than 100% recovery of injected water, and possible migration because of unknown subsurface properties. The yellow circle is the legal 1-mile radius area covered by the well ban.)

What you can do:

TAKE ACTION NOW! Click Contact to email your thoughts to the City of Rockledge, FDEP, St. Johns River Water Management District, and your State legislators. We have made it very simple to send an email by following this Contact link.

Click to see a larger versionSign the petition.

You also might consider signing an internet petition, though it would not have the same legal effect as directly contacting your representatives.

Email: info@saveouraquifer.org and submit to SOA your name and contact information and SOA will notify you of upcoming action items, media events, and the upcoming public hearing.

Buy a sign for your yard ($5 donation); contact us.

Talk to your family, friends and neighbors about this important issue.

To ask a question, or get involved, contact: info@saveouraquifer.org

Click email to send a brief email to City and State officials. Let them know they should not promote the injection of partially treated sewage, with its hundreds of known carcinogenic pollutants and endocrine disruptors into our drinking water aquifer.

A few reasons to oppose a partially treated sewage ASR well in Rockledge:
* We should not be disposing of partially treated sewage into the Underground Source of Drinking Water
* Endangers adjacent ecosystems because of migrating pollutants
* Not beneficial for the public, but enables the State to justify continued uncontrolled growth
* Uses experimental technology in a gamble to conserve drinking water for future growth
* Eliminates use of a local drinking water resource for the purpose of watering lawns
* Economically risky

Summary

In January 2008 the City of Rockledge received a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to construct an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) well and associated test wells. The City does not have a permit to inject partially treated sewage effluent. The current permit is only for construction and does not allow injection. In November 2008, the City completed drilling the ASR well and test wells. The City will be filing an application with FDEP requesting a two year cycle testing permit from FDEP to test the ASR well with sewage water once everything is complete, i.e. water quality data, well inventory/survey and UV disinfection system. The City will have to go through a major permit modification prior to injection, which will allow citizens a 14-day Notice of Intent period in which to submit public comments to FDEP and gain standing on the injection of 180 million gallons partially treated sewage annually into the Floridan aquifer, the same aquifer our drinking water comes from.

Access to clean drinking water, and a healthy coastal ecosystem are fundamental citizen rights, protected by federal and state law. We can not allow the City of Rockledge to take these basic needs away from us, impact our property values, and take away our rights to clean, safe water.

Contact Save Our Aquifer: info@saveouraquifer.org
Mailing address:
Save Our Aquifer, Inc.
P.O. Box 251
Cocoa, Fla. 32923

4 March Demonstration

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