Pollution has been on the rise rapidly due to human activities. Rapid pollution has led to the contamination of water in the entire world risking the death and illnesses of people and animals. It has led to the need to monitor and report the environmental quality of drinking water in Florida. The report focuses on the level of contamination in the region, and the rules and regulations intended to limit the contamination in Florida. The report contains data, and the recent changes that the State’s government has recently adopted to enhance and ensure the citizens have access to clean drinking water. It is important to classify the water in the state under the Florida Administrative Code (FAC) Chapter 62-302 which sorts water by its designated usage. There are five classes Class I, II, III, IV, and V that are designated for drinking, shellfish propagation, recreation, aquatic wildlife, agriculture, and industrial use respectively (Sipes, 2013). This report only focuses on Class I as it directly affects human health. Just as in other parts of the U.S., Florida’s primary source of water is groundwater. The groundwater supply over 92% of the drinking and domestic utility water. The wells drilled to supply the water produce clean water, but due to the continuous environmental degradation, the water contains chemicals and bacteria which data proves that Florida wells provide most of the bacteria. The contamination is from gasoline leaks, pesticides from agricultural lands, and inadequate disposal of toxic wastes from industries. Other causes of pollution are septic systems poorly maintained. In addition, 80% of individuals rely on public water systems under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act while the remaining 20% rely on private wells. Various tests and researchers have identified that the most widespread contaminants in Florida are nitrates, bacteria, and lead. Nitrate has mostly affected people using water near agricultural areas whereby poses a direct threat to children under three months. The nitrates react with hemoglobin thus resulting in anemia. Lead, on the other hand, is due to the poor maintenance of the piping thus leading to levels above the 0.15mg/L which is the national standard (Sipes, 2013). These levels result in nervous system disorders. The creation of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) under the Florida Environmental Reorganization Act of 1993 helps in regulating and preserving environmental integrity in the state. FDEP is responsible for all environmental conservation activities in the state and mainly deals with land, water, and air. It makes laws and enforces other rules, for instance, the administering of the Water Resource Act (Sipes, 2013). It deals with regulating contamination, permitting dredging of water, and ensuring the supply of public drinking water among other responsibilities. In the bind to enhance the safety of Class I water, the FDEP passed a new rule that increased the limits of additional toxins from 39 to 43 dumping in the Florida water sources. The FDEP claims that the update was by the EPA and the World Health Organization (WHO) (World Health Organization., & World Health Organization. 1998). The Commission approved the new rule regarding water quality by a slight margin of 3-2 votes (Burlew, 2016). Although the FDEP claims that the water quality will increase after the update, environmentalists claim that the rule will harm the quality of water. They argue that the new law makes Floridians expendable to cancer and other health concerns. The rule goes against the Federal rules that regulate benzene and dozens of other chemicals in the water. Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act recommend that 0 benzene is in tap water but a maximum of 0.005 micrograms per liter (Burlew, 2016). The FDEP has changed that to 0.001 micrograms per liter. The increment has led to a prediction of adverse health issues but since the FDEP claims it is a good move, only time will tell.
Conclusion
According to the report, it is clear that the primary source of drinking water is groundwater. It also acknowledges that there is pollution that leads to water contamination. The FDEP has several policies that help regulate and preserve water quality among other environmental conditions, but the recent approval of the new rule has led to increasing debate on the safety of Florida drinking water. It leaves lots of issues to be researched to clearly show whether the new law will improve the quality of water or become a health hazard for the Floridians.
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References
Burlew, J. (May 21, 2016). DEP defends water pollution standards. Tallahassee Democrat News. Retrieved October 12, 2016, from, http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/05/20/dep-defends-water-pollution-standards/84675594/
Sipes, J. L. (2013). Sustainable solutions for water resources: Policies, planning, design, and implementation. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
World Health Organization, & World Health Organization. (1998). Guidelines for drinking-water quality. Geneva: World Health Organization.
