Class II and Class III wells are permitted by the Florida State Depart- 

 ment of Natural Resources, Bureau of Geology. The other classes are permitted 

 through the Florida State Department of Environmental Regulation, the most 

 important of which are industrial and municipal wells. 



Groundwater 



Probably the single most serious environmental constraint to urban growth 

 and other economic developments in Southwest Florida is the distribution and 

 the availability of potable and nonpotable sources of water. Southwest Flor- 

 ida once was rich in surface and groundwater supplies that were adequate for 

 domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses. Now rapid growth of the urban 

 population of the coastal counties has led to severe shortages of potable 

 drinking water and considerable competition for existing sources of any kind 

 of water. Water tables and shallow aquifers have been substantially lowered 

 by drainage improvements and by construction of canals for draining interior 

 wetlands for agricultural and for industrial phosphate mining. The cumulative 

 results of these canals have resulted in falling water tables and saltwater 

 intrusion in many of the coastal areas of Southwest Florida (Florida State 

 Department of Environmental Regulation 1979a). 



The competition for water for public, agricultural, industrial, and com- 

 mercial consumption is a growing problem that is especially acute during 

 droughts. The counties that use the most water are Pinellas County, which 

 currently withdraws 88 Mgal/d of groundwater of which 65.9 Mgal/d are for 

 public supply, and Hillsborough County, which uses about 39 Mgal/d for public 

 supply. Commercial consumption in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties is about 

 23.0 and 15.9 Mgal/d, respectively. Industrial consumption is greatest in 

 Hillsborough and Manatee Counties (8 Mgal/d in each). 



A report entitled "A Regional Fiscal Impact Model: Applications for the 

 Charlotte Harbor Region" prepared by Milliman et al . (1981) of the University 

 of Florida describes the nature of the groundwater controversy as follows: 



Resulting stresses on groundwater sources have resulted in 

 seriously overburdening groundwater supplies within the Char- 

 lotte Harbor area. In addition to these problems, contami- 

 nation of shallow aquifers by uncapped abandoned wells 

 drilled into highly salty artesian formations and pollution 

 from septic tanks has seriously reduced their potential to 

 supply freshwater needs. 



The deep Floridian aquifer underlies most of the area, but is 

 high in chlorides, sulfates, and total dissolved solids and 

 is not suitable for domestic use without extensive desalini- 

 zation. Already many areas in this region are turning to 

 reverse osmosis and electrodialysis processes to produce 

 potable water from brackish groundwater sources. Desaliniza- 

 tion is only cost effective in areas where a large scale sys- 

 tem to develop and transport surface and/or groundwater has 

 not been implemented. Expansion of desalinization plants in 

 the Charlotte Harbor area is foreseen until more economical 

 regional systems are constructed. 



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