Save Our Aquifer – Rockledge, Florida

Partially treated sewage effluent is waste water from the sewage treatment plant. It is more commonly known as “reclaimed water”, or “reuse water”. Rockledge’s partially treated sewage wastewater is routinely tested for the EPA’s 126 Priority Pollutants. These toxic pollutants are on the EPA list because they are either carcinogenic or harmful to human health. Rockledge’s sewage effluent tests positive in trace amounts for all of these pollutants.

Total coliform bacteria in Rockledge’s sewage wastewater is also tested. On several occasions, Total Coliform has received a Too Numerous to Count (TNTC) rating. There are many other contaminants in sewage effluent that the City is not required to test for and which the government has set no safety requirements. These include Personal Care Products (PPCP’s), pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors and many more. The 180 million gallons of partially treated sewage wastewater that is proposed to be annually injected into the drinking water aquifer via the ASR well will go through an ultra-violet disinfection system. This disinfection treatment will not kill, or be required to kill, all of the Biologicals and Pathogens (Cryptosporidium, E. Coli, Fecal Coliforms, Giardia or Total Coliforms) and will not filter out the PPCP’s, heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, or the synthetic and volatile contaminants. Instead these contaminants and unregulated PPCPs would be injected into the aquifer day after day, and year after year.

Note: sewage effluent is not potable and should not be ingested. You may want to wear gardening gloves when working in a yard irrigated with reclaimed wastewater. Care should be taken to prevent sewage effluent aka “reclaimed wastewater” from landing on impervious surfaces such as roads, sidewalks, and driveways. Many of Rockledge’s neighborhoods drain to the Indian River Lagoon. Scientific studies have proven that hormones in sewage effluent (in the parts per trillion range) have the ability to turn male fish into female fish in less than two weeks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reclaimed_water
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803190318
http://deadlydeceit.com/necrotizingf.html
http://thewatchers.us/Dr_Oppenheimer-statement.html
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17227
http://thewatchers.us/Glossary1.html
http://thewatchers.us/1_index-bacteria.html

If you want to read about the laws regarding Rockledge partially treated sewage use see: THE ROCKLEDGE CODE OF ORDINANCES, Chapter 17 SEWERS AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL, ARTICLE III. RECLAIMED WATER USE:
http://www.municode.com/Resources/gateway.asp?pid=10328&sid=9
The City does not cite safety precautions for reclaimed water customers but does makes the City not liable for any damages incurred by the use of sewage effluent:
Sec. 17-56. Conditions of use.

Each customer of the water reclamation system shall not have any recourse against the city for the loss of reclaimed water supply due to distribution system down times, or for damage to vegetation or any other damages occasioned by use of the reclaimed water.
(Ord. No. 1409-06, § 1(Exh. A), 5-3-06)

The use of sewage effluent is regulated through Chapter 62-610, of the Florida Administrative Code and Chapter 23 of the Brevard County Code. Please protect your health the next time you use sewage effluent on your lawn by incorporating the following Brevard County rules:
http://www.brevardcounty.us/usd/reusinfo.cfm

1. There shall be no physical connection between the reclaimed water system and any other water supply. An isolation valve does not constitute a separation.

2. Reclaimed water shall not be used on property that uses an on site well for a potable water supply or used for irrigation within 100 feet of any potable water supply well.

3. To meet this requirement, applicants for reclaimed water service shall warrant the absence of potable water wells on the property proposed for service, as well as on all adjacent property, within 100 feet of the property boundary.

4. A back flow prevention device, approved by the Brevard County Utility Services Department and the public water supplier, shall be installed on all potable water service lines serving properties receiving reclaimed water.

5. Reclaimed water, used for irrigation, may only be connected to “in the ground” sprinkler systems or “above ground systems” using a non-standard hose bib which can only be operated with a special tool. Any such non-standard hose bi bb and special tool shall be supplied by, or approved by the Brevard County Utility Services. The maintenance and repair of the hose bibs provided by Brevard County Utility Services shall be the owner’s responsibility.

6. Reclaimed water irrigation systems shall be designed, constructed and operated so as to minimize over-spray onto impervious surfaces.

7. Reclaimed water used within 100 feet of any public eating, drinking or bathing facilities shall incorporate low trajectory spray heads or other means to reduce aerosol drift.

8. Reclaimed water shall not be used to fill swimming pools, hot tubs, spas or wading pools.

9. Reclaimed water shall not be used inside any residential dwelling.

10. Reclaimed water shall not be used for any purpose other than irrigation unless specifically authorized by the Director of the Utility Services Department.

11. Reclaimed water shall not be used on edible crops, that will not be peeled or skinned, prior to consumption.

12. The use of reclaimed water for commercial market crops shall require the specific authorization by the Director of the Utility Services Department.
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The following is the ordinance that was passed in September 2006 to fulfill the FDEP requirement to ban all potable water wells within a 1-mile radius of the ASR well site/Sewage Treatment Facility. Question: Does requiring residents to hook up to City of Cocoa water within 30 days of written notice sufficiently ban potable water wells?

ARTICLE V. MUNICIPAL WATER ORDINANCE

Sec. 17-70. Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the community by requiring all potable well owners within one mile of the aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) facility located at the City of Rockledge’s Wastewater Treatment Facility to connect to the municipal water system, due to existing State of Florida regulations. The one-mile radius for connection to municipal water supply is shown on Exhibit A.
(Ord. No. 1414-06, § 1, 8-16-06)
Sec. 17-71. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, certain abbreviations, terms, phrases, words and their derivatives shall have the following meanings:
Aquifer means a geologic formation, group of formations, or a part of a formation capable of yielding a significant amount of groundwater to wells, springs or surface water.
Floridan aquifer means an aquifer consisting of Ocala and Avon Park Limestones, the top of which is bound by the Hawthorn Group.
Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) means the process where water is pumped through a well into an aquifer for storage and then later withdrawn for use via the same well.
Irrigation well means a well that supplies water solely for irrigation purposes.
Municipal potable water system means a system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances as defined by “public water system” per Rule 62-550.220, Florida Administrative code and the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), title 40, part 141, section 2.
Potable well means a groundwater well that supplies water for drinking water use.
Reclaimed water means water that has received tertiary treatment at a wastewater treatment facility and may be reused for irrigation purposes per Rule 62-610 Florida Administrative Code.
Wastewater treatment facility means the facility located at 1700 Jack Oates Boulevard that receives and treats domestic wastewater for the City of Rockledge.
(Ord. No. 1414-06, § 1, 8-16-06)

Sec. 17-72. Potable wells.
Owners of potable wells that lie within one mile of the Rockledge Wastewater Treatment Facility property boundary, shall be required to connect to the available municipal potable water system within 30 days of written notification by the City of Rockledge.
(Ord. No. 1414-06, § 1, 8-16-06)

Sec. 17-73. Irrigation wells.
Owners of irrigation wells and other non-potable use wells within one mile of the Rockledge Wastewater Treatment Facility property boundary shall not be affected by this article.
(Ord. No. 1414-06, § 1, 8-16-06)