City pumping sewage water into well fields

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 19, 2007

WEST PALM BEACH - Faced with a depleted water supply and extreme drought conditions, the city of West Palm Beach decided this spring to bypass a water filtration step and instead pump treated sewage water into its well fields, officials said.

Utility managers opted to not filter the treated sewage water through a marsh, a process that takes two years. Instead, officials blended the reuse water with millions of gallons of water from old Palm Beach County quarry pits then sent that water to well fields that serve more than 100, 000 customers.

"It sounds a little bit, it sounds - how should I say - disgusting. It doesn't sound appetizing, " Mayor Lois Frankel said. "But our water is tested every day, and we have very good water."

Officials developed the plan after water managers ordered the city on April 3 to stop pumping from Lake Okeechobee, which dropped to record-low water levels this year. Without Lake Okeechobee, the city had trouble replenishing its water supply.

"Changing a system cannot be done overnight, " Frankel said. "We got a little bit blindsided."

City water managers decided to pump water from rock pits, blended it with treated sewage water, send it to the well field and refill Clear Lake. Customers were not informed of the temporary fix, but city officials said there was no public risk.

[Last modified June 18, 2007, 22:16:55]