§ 4.4. Potable Water

4.4.1 Introduction to Potable Water in General

Potable water is the term applied to water that is considered fit for human consumption. This resource is not only used as drinking water, but for cooking, washing clothes and dishes, bathing, and other various commercial and industrial purposes. Within Santa Rosa County, the average daily usage of potable water is approximately 100 gallons per person per day (gpcd).

With the rapid growth rate of Santa Rosa County, an important part of the planning process is the evaluation of the potable water resources available. The availability of potable water has major implications regarding the type and density of development an area can accommodate. The availability of potable water is dependent on the type and capacity of facilities, the existing regulations, and the nature of the intended use. Generally, potable water is made available through a system consisting of three principal components: a water source, treatment facilities, and a storage and distribution system.

The purpose of the Santa Rosa County Potable Water Element is to identify existing and future sources of potable water supply, potable water needs; determine the adequacy of existing facilities to meet those needs and to define operational responsibilities, geographic service areas, and the level of service provided to the customer. The analysis of the existing conditions and future needs then serves as a basis for formulating suitable recommendations concerning the management of the potable water system, in addition to formulating the Goals, Objectives and Policies for effective management of the potable water resource in the future.

4.4.2 Potable Water Supply in Santa Rosa County—Community Systems and Individual On-Site Wells

In general, potable water is either produced from surface water (lakes, rivers, man-made surface impoundments, etc.) or groundwater. Surface water, groundwater, or a combination of the two constitutes a supply source for potable water systems. In Santa Rosa County, as is the case for most of Florida, groundwater is the sole source of potable water.

The water withdrawn from the source is commonly referred to as raw water. This raw water typically requires treatment before being used for public consumption. Treatment removes impurities from the raw water in order to improve its quality for either public health or aesthetic reasons, or both. The treatment process adds to the cost of supplying water, but it also expands the range of raw water sources that can be used. In Santa Rosa County, water drawn from wells using the Sand and Gravel Aquifer as a source requires minimal treatment at present time.

After treatment, the water is supplied to individual users via a system of pipes and storage reservoirs. In the smallest systems, for individual households or businesses, the entire potable water system is normally contained on the development site (individual wells). In larger community systems the withdrawal and treatment may take place some distance away from the final users, and an extensive distribution network may be required. Large transmission lines, called distribution mains, carry water to major demand areas and interconnect with a network of smaller lines which eventually supply individual establishments. Both the distribution mains and distribution networks should be interconnected to allow water to circulate within the system to areas of highest momentary demand.

Water is delivered under pressure within the distribution system in order to ensure adequate flow to meet demands. Demand fluctuates during each day, usually exhibiting peaks during the morning and evening hours corresponding to periods of highest residential use. Localized demand peaks also occur when the system is designed and used for firefighting purposes. In order to provide adequate quantities and pressure to meet peak use and fire flow demands, storage tanks are linked with the distribution system at strategic locations. During low demand periods, these tanks are filled as water is pumped into the system. During the peak demand periods, water flows into the distribution system to augment flows and maintain pressure. Ground level and elevated storage tanks are both commonly used. Elevated storage tanks (water towers) are usually the most economical. Many systems also include auxiliary pumps, which operate during peak demand periods.

4.4.3 Existing Conditions—Potable Water Provision in Santa Rosa County

In Santa Rosa County, the source of groundwater is either the shallower surficial aquifer, known as the Sand-and-Gravel Aquifer, or the deeper Floridan Aquifer. According to the Northwest Florida Water Management District, the Sand-and-Gravel Aquifer is the principal source for potable water in Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties.

4.4.3.1 Hydrogeology

The hydrology of the West Florida Region consists of four major aquifers: the Surficial Aquifer System, which includes the Sand-and-Gravel Aquifer, the Floridan Aquifer, Sub-Floridan System, and the Intermediate System. The composition of the Floridan System and Surficial Aquifer System allows for the storing and transmitting of ground water to, from, and throughout the respective aquifer. Each of these Systems is different, however, in that each has different water yielding properties due to variations in composition and thickness.

The thickness of the Surficial Aquifer System is variable. Its thickness ranges from a few feet to as much as 300 feet in the western part of the Region. In most of Santa Rosa County and in all of Escambia County, the Surficial Aquifer System is the primary source of potable water and is commonly called the Sand-and-Gravel Aquifer. The primary components of this aquifer are sand, clays, and gravel, with sands being the primary component. East of the Choctawhatchee River the aquifer is thin and is a minor water-bearing layer.

4.4.3.2 Environmental Constraints

Water quality within source water aquifers is of concern in Santa Rosa County for two reasons: (1) susceptibility of saline-water intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico and Santa Rosa Sound and upconing from the Floridan Aquifer along the coast and (2) susceptibility of the surficial aquifer to contamination from human activities. Such activities include the dredging of canals, which may create an avenue for saltwater to enter the surficial aquifer system, the spilling or leaking of chemicals into the ground and septic tanks percolating to the water table.

Saline water intrusion impacts the water supply in three ways: (1) in areas where water in the Floridan Aquifer is potable, upconing of saline water can raise the chloride concentration above drinking water standards; (2) in areas of heavy irrigation, a higher salinity of Floridan water percolates into the surficial aquifer therefore raising the chloride and sulfate concentration in the surficial aquifer. As the salinity of the irrigation water increases, the rate of contamination of the surficial aquifer due to percolation increases; and (3) in severe cases, upconing of poorer quality water may cause the water to become too saline for irrigation. Lowering of the potentiometric surface and increased contamination of the surficial aquifer is also contributed to by free-flowing or leaky wells. While the greatest need for potable water is along the coast where the population is more concentrated, excessive pumping of the Floridan Aquifer along the coast increases the possibility of more widespread saltwater intrusion. The development of well fields farther inland, specifically those associated with the Fairpoint Regional Utility System, has worked to alleviate this problem. Further analysis of this is provided below.

4.4.3.3 Existing Community Water Systems

Within Santa Rosa County, water supply systems large enough to require consumptive use permits from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) fall into one of three categories: Community Water Systems, Non-Transient Non-Community Water Systems, and Non-Community Water Systems. These systems may be either public systems or privately owned. In Santa Rosa County, there are thirteen (13) Community Water Systems, four (4) Non-Transient, Non-Community Water Systems, and eight (8) Non-Community Water Systems permitted by DEP.

Of the thirteen community water systems in Santa Rosa County, one is County operated, there are three municipal systems and ten privately owned systems under franchise agreements with the County. Each of these systems are operated independently and are responsible for such items as financial stability, meeting state level requirements, and ensuring the availability of water to meet future demands.

In general, more than 70% of existing residential development in the County located within a water franchise area is served by a potable water utility, with higher connection percentages seen in urbanized areas of the County (See Table 4-7 ). For instance, the Town of Jay, Navarre Beach and the southern end of the County are nearly 100% connected to a centralized potable water provider. The remaining development in the County has a private well source for potable water. Map 4-6 depicts the franchised Potable Water Service Areas in Santa Rosa County. Table 4-4 provides basic information on the 13 community water systems operating within the County including number of wells, well source and amount of water pumped or purchased. One of the critical elements provided by these community water systems if fire protection.

Map 4-6 Water Franchise Areas of Santa Rosa County

Fire Protection

The responsibility for evaluating and classifying the adequacy of fire protection in an area lies within the Insurance Service Office (ISO). The ISO has established a classification scheme to evaluate areas within defined fire department service areas with ratings of one to ten, with one representing the highest level of fire protection and ten representing the lowest level of fire protection or no protection at all. The classification scheme is based upon the evaluation of many different aspects of an area, including the water supply system, the serving fire department, and the alarm notification system. The evaluation of the water supply system represents 40 percent of the total evaluation and covers the system storage capacity, pump capacity, emergency supply sources (defined as systems and facilities not ordinarily in use), supplemental suction supply sources for use by the fire department including surface water sources, wells, cisterns, water supply carried by the fire department in tanker trucks, transmission and distribution network capacity to deliver fire flow and the distribution, type frequency of inspection and the condition of the available fire hydrants. The fire protection within a department service area is used by insurance companies in setting homeowner's insurance rates.

Santa Rosa County currently has seventeen (17) defined fire department districts. These districts serve all portions of the County. The majority of the subdivisions within the County have been equipped with the necessary firefighting equipment (i.e., fire hydrants, etc.). However, in a few isolated incidents, the fire department continues to use tanker trucks where this equipment is not present. These facilities have been given split classification under the ISO classification system. The primary rating, or the first number in the representative rating, indicates the rating for facilities that are located within five miles of an existing fire station and are within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant. On the other hand, the second classification number is for facilities that are within 5 miles of an existing fire station, but are not within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant. In this latter case, the highest obtainable rating is 9 (on the one through ten scale). The 11 districts with split ISO ratings have at least a 9 secondary rating. The 17 districts in Santa Rosa County have primary ratings in the range of 4 to 8.

Map 4-7 depicts the County's individual fire districts as well as the location of existing fire hydrants within the County. As can be seen, the location of fire hydrants follows the location of centralized water.

Map 4-7 Fire Districts & Hydrants within Santa Rosa County

Table 4-4: Water Utility Operational Data

Water Utility	2014 Total Water Pumped Mg/Yr	2014 Total Water Sold Mg/Yr	2014 Water Purchased from FRUS Mg/Yr	2014 Water Loss %	Well Source and Number Floridan/ Sand-and- Gravel
Bagdad-Garcon Point Water System	215.0	139.2	0.0	9.5	(0/3)
Berrydale Water System	108.4	51.2	0.0	10.4	(0/3)
Chumuckla Water System	108.9	88.2	0.0	5.1	(0/3)
East Milton Water System	537.7	479.1	0.0	5.9	(1/5)
Fairpoint Regional Utility System	754.1	639.6	0.0	8.0	(0/6)
Gulf Breeze Utility Department	0.0	239.3	272.3	12.1	(0/0)
South Santa Rosa Utilities	0.0	286.4	164.5	13.0	(0/0)
Holley-Navarre Water System	601.6	853.1	182.5	9.0	(4/1)
Jay Utility Department	61.8	43.1	0.0	11.0	(0/2)
Midway Water System	325.1	350.3	37.4	2.5	(2/2)
Milton Utility Department	612.8	559.2	0.0	7.5	(0/6)
Moore Creek/Mount Carmel Water System	84.6	65.8	0.1	12.3	(1/2)
Navarre Beach Water and Sewer Department	113.2	88.5	0.0	25.0	(2/2)
Pace Water System	1349.0	1030.8	0.0	10.2	(0/11)
Point Baker Water System	283.6	223.3	0.0	7.4	(0/5)

 

Source: 2014 Santa Rosa County Utility Operational Status Report

4.4.3.4 Level of Service Standard

The level of service (LOS) standard for potable water facilities providing service in Santa Rosa County is 100 gallons per capita per day (average demand).

Potable Water Demand

The demand for potable water, and consequently the capacity of potable water systems, is described in terms of gallons per day (gpd). The basic unit normally used in estimating demand is based on consumption per capita (per person), expressed in gallons per capita per day (gpcd). It is an accepted practice to convert per capita demand to equivalent residential unit (ERU) demand based on the average household size within an area. Demand for non-residential uses, such as commercial or industrial users, are also frequently converted to ERU figures based on statistical records of average daily demand for the various non-residential users.

This means of measuring demand, either in gallons per capita per day (gpcd) or ERU, provides the means for establishing the level of service standard for a facility. For example, if average daily water use is 100 gallons per person per day, the level of service (LOS) standard would be expressed as:

LOS = 100 gpcd, average daily demand

If the average household size within the area is 2.63 persons per household, an equivalent way of expressing the LOS standard is:

LOS = 263 gpd per ERU, average daily demand

Similarly, if a commercial business uses 1,000 gallons per day per 1,000 square feet of floor area, the demand created by an establishment of 1,000 square feet would equate to 3.8 ERU on an average daily basis. By this method, future demand can be estimated by projecting the total population or dwelling units, plus the total ERU of non-residential users to be served by a facility. The needed capacity for a facility can therefore be projected.

Connection Requirements

It is important to understand that level of service criteria centralized water really indicates the ability of the treatment facilities and production sources to accommodate demand. This demand is primarily population driven. The LOS standard means, for instance, that a potable water treatment facility such as the Navarre Beach WTF would need to be able to supply and treat 100 gallons of water per person served per day. If a new development were to come on line that needed capacity, we would look at the ability of the WTF to serve existing customers at that LOS plus the new customers added by the new development. Linear infrastructure such as the necessary lines that make up water systems transmission infrastructure face additional challenges. This is where coordination of land use and development approvals becomes very important. Two types of development patterns can be problematic to future development desiring water infrastructure, retrofit for environmental reasons or fire protection, and extension of services in general.

These types of development patterns can make future extension cost prohibitive and can "lock in" future development by making extensions difficult.

1)

Leap frog development—development that leaps over large vacant areas; and

2)

Barrier development—development that occurs within relatively close proximity to existing linear infrastructure and does not connect to those systems.

Connection to a public water and/or sewer system if available (basically in front of home) is required for all single family residential projects requiring a building permit. The County has additional requirements for developers platting new subdivisions that may require the extension of lines to the new development and within the new development. The following table ( Table 4-5 ) summarizes current Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan connection policies for central water.

Table 4-5: Current Water Connection Policy for Residential Developments Requiring Extension

	LOS (Utility) Requirement	Developer Requirement
Central Water	100 gallons per capita per day	No linear extension requirement is in place but if central water is immediately available, platted subdivisions (excludes metes and bounds subdivisions requiring extension) are required to connect and install according to engineering specifications. Single family homes in metes and bound subdivisions are only required to connect if service is directly available (in front of home).

 

4.4.3.5 Community Water System Analysis

Projected Demand Analysis for Santa Rosa County Community Water Systems

The 2014 Santa Rosa County Utility Operational Status Report is hereby incorporated by reference. The following sections represent critical sections of this document.

When looking at water facilities in terms of capacity, there are three basic capacity parameters. The first is well capacity or the capacity to produce water without the need to develop additional wells. The second is treatment plant capacity, which is sometimes referred to as design capacity. This represents the ability of the plant to treat water flowing through from the well or wholesaler (water system that sells water to anther water system) to the end user. In this area, this is mainly chlorination as a means of disinfection and other additives for pH correction or transmission system protection. Since higher level treatment, for the most part, is not necessary due to high water quality and treatment is dose based according to flow, capacity is really related to well capacity.

Most utilities in the County report well capacity as design capacity for this reason. The potential for additional future treatment demands have been lessened with the utilization of Sand-and-Gravel Aquifer wells rather than Floridan Aquifer wells for the urbanizing areas in the southern portion of the County as well as the middle County areas, and by the recent adoption of the County's well field protection ordinance. The third and final parameter is storage capacity which is basically the amount of water that can be stored in tanks for use at a later time. If 25% of the water systems maximum daily flow is greater than the combined storage capacity then, by rule, it will trigger a study by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

For purposes of this report, water facility design capacity and/or well capacity—or the maximum allowed average daily well flow from the Northwest Florida Water Management District.

Consumptive Use Permit (CUP)—were compared to an average of monthly flows figure. It should be noted that this average of monthly flows figure most likely overestimates current system demand by 10-15%. However, the results of this comparison provided a relatively good look at available capacities for the water systems in the County and is presented in Figure 4-2 below.

Table 4-6 below, provides the demand projections estimated by the Northwest Water Management District through 2025 (2013) and then compares these projections to design and well consumptive use permit capacities/allowances. The 2025 CUP deficits for Holley Navarre, Navarre Beach, and Midway are expected since these systems are purchasing water from FRUS. As can be seen in this table, there is sufficient water facility design capacity surplus to accommodate projected demand through 2025.

Figure 4-2: Current Capacity Analysis Summary Chart

Notes: The City of Gulf Breeze and South Santa Rosa Utilities do not have a Consumptive Use Permit since all water is purchased from FRUS.

Table 4-6: Water Utility Capacity and Demand Comparison

Water Utility	Average Daily Consum- ptive Use Permit Allow- ance Mg/d	Design Capacity Mg/d	Storage Capacity Mg	2015 Demand Projec- tion Mg/d	2020 Demand Projec- tion Mg/d	2025 Demand Projec- tion Mg/d	2030 Demand Projec- tion Mg/d	% Design Capacity 2025	% Daily Consump- tive Use Permit Allow- ance 2025
Bagdad-Garcon Point Water System	0.680	3.096	0.750	0.533	0.585	0.635	0.678	20%	93%
Berrydale Water System	0.336	1.224	0.375	0.234	0.246	0.255	0.260	21%	76%
Chumuckla Water System	0.439	2.250	0.390	0.375	0.413	0.447	0.478	20%	102%
East Milton Water System	2.420	6.264	2.150	1.384	1.521	1.649	1.762	26%	68%
Fairpoint Regional Utility System	6.080	7.632	0.300	4.314	4.687	5.034	5.331	66%	83%
Gulf Breeze Utility Department	NA	1.656	1.100	0.962	0.962	0.962	0.962	58%	NA
South Santa Rosa Utilities	NA	6.480	1.650	0.848	0.893	0.925	0.942	14%	NA
Holley-Navarre Water	1.300	4.572	1.150	2.915	3.264	3.604	3.918	79%	277%
Jay Utility Department	0.290	0.936	0.175	0.189	0.189	0.189	0.189	20%	65%
Midway Water System	1.000	2.401	1.800	1.300	1.428	1.549	1.655	65%	155%
Milton Utility Department	2.530	8.064	1.600	1.949	2.142	2.323	2.482	29%	92%
Moore Creek/Mount Carmel Water Sys	0.375	0.446	0.500	0.284	0.299	0.310	0.316	69%	83%
Navarre Beach Water and Sewer Dept	0.400	2.500	0.550	0.280	0.295	0.306	0.312	12%	765%
Pace Water System	6.100	17.482	3.900	4.069	4.639	5.214	5.766	30%	85%
Point Baker Water System	1.120	3.859	1.125	0.854	0.938	1.017	1.087	26%	91%

 

Table 4-7: Existing Structure Count by Water Franchise Area and % Connected

Water Utility	Popu- lation Served	Commer- cial	High Water Usage Commun- ity Facilities	Low Water Usage Commun- ity Facilities	Multi- Family Residen- tial Units	Single Family Residen- tial Units	Commer- cial Connec- tions	Residen- tial Connec- tions	% Connected Commer- cial	% Connected Residen- tial
Bagdad-Garcon Point Water System	5,672	34	11	23	43	2,356	79	2,190	116%	91%
Berrydale Water System	2,194	48	18	38	7	1,207	15	847	14%	70%
Chumuckla Water System	3,779	47	14	29	7	2,024	25	1,459	28%	72%
East Milton Water System	9,596	273	24	88	18	4,483	141	3,705	37%	82%
Fairpoint Regional Utility System	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Gulf Breeze Utility Department	6,457	406	48	35	568	2,050	272	2,493	56%	95%
South Santa Rosa Utilities	10,715	155	6	6	478	3,326	133	4,137	80%	109%
Holley-Navarre Water System	36,760	568	45	74	1,388	13,563	444	14,193	65%	95%
Jay Utility Department	1,119	121	25	16	29	419	91	432	56%	96%
Midway Water System	14,149	613	14	62	989	6,624	266	5,463	39%	72%
Milton Utility Department	18,832	983	97	111	1,165	6,775	636	7,271	53%	92%
Moore Creek/Mount Carmel Water System	2,940	36	13	18	7	1,372	19	1,135	28%	82%
Navarre Beach Water and Sewer Dept.	5,030	38	7	16	1,575	367	10	1,942	16%	100%
Pace Water System	34,235	905	88	97	739	14,279	599	13,218	55%	88%
Point Baker Water System	8,770	76	29	24	225	3,925	29	3,386	22%	82%

 

The following analysis ( Table 4-8 ) provides information related to the amount of development potential within each utility franchise area on vacant lands as allocated on the current Santa Rosa County Future Land Use Map. This analysis provides information on the County's long range planning program and how potable water facilities and services may or may not be in place to serve development potential at full build-out. This information may be used by the water utilities for master planning or for the programming of future capital projects. This analysis also points out that many franchise areas have limited potential for growth, for instance the Berrydale, Jay, Moore Creek and Navarre Beach franchise areas are at near build-out with a relatively small amount of remaining development potential. It should also be noted that the utilities purchasing water from FRUS are expected to have a CUP Permitted capacity deficit. These systems include Navarre Beach, Holley Navarre and Midway. Additional capacity required in million gallons per day is calculated as residential units allocated on vacant land x 2.64 x 100/1,000,000. Where 2.64 is the average household size (2013) and 100 gpd/capita is the adopted level of service standard, 2012 data was utilized for allowable residential units since 2012 Future Land Use Map amendments where not significant.

Table 4-8: Build Out Analysis

Water Utility	Total Residential Units Allowable In Franchise Area	Additional Capacity Required at Adopted LOS mgd	Plus Projected 2015 Demand mgd	CUP Combined Annual Withdrawal Permitted Capacity mgd	Existing Design Capacity mgd	Permitted Surplus/ (Deficit) mgd	Design Surplus/ (Deficit) mgd
Berrydale	236	0.06	0.23	0.34	1.22	0.04	0.93
Chumuckla	1,470	0.38	0.38	0.44	2.25	-0.32	1.49
East Milton	11,194	2.90	1.38	2.42	6.26	-1.92	1.92
Holley- Navarre	38,844	10.06	1.36	1.30	4.57	-11.87	-8.60
Midway	21,840	5.66	0.60	1.00	2.40	-6.07	-4.66
Moore Creek/Mt. Carmel	208	0.05	0.28	0.38	3.75	0.04	3.41
Pace	34,665	8.98	4.07	6.10	17.48	-7.12	4.26
Point Baker	9,384	2.43	0.85	1.12	1.12	-2.21	-2.21
Bagdad-Garcon Point	13,400	3.46	0.53	0.68	3.10	-3.39	-0.97
Navarre Beach	858	0.22	0.04	0.04	2.50	-0.47	1.99

 

Note: City of Gulf Breeze and South Santa Rosa Utilities purchase 100% of water from FRUS. Navarre Beach, Holley Navarre and Midway also purchase from FRUS, predicting inflation of deficiencies. This table only includes utilities operating completely outside of any incorporated city or town.

4.4.4 Protection of Potable Water Quality and Quantity

4.4.4.1 Well Field Areas of Influence and Well Head Protection in Santa Rosa County

Land use activities can reduce the quality and quantity of water infiltrating into the aquifer, which can directly affect the County's potable water supplies. In the case of the well field areas of influence, rain which infiltrates into the soil within the area of influence may be drawn down into the well field cone of depression and thus into the County's wells. Any activity on the land surface that reduces the quantity of water infiltrating into the aquifer can directly affect the water supply. For this reason, the area of influence is the most important of the areas having significant water resource potential. Activities within the area of influence which can directly influence the water supply are listed below:

• Paving or covering soils of excellent to good recharge potential;

• Over-drainage of water table by use of deep ditches;

• Over-pumping of private wells for irrigation of lawns;

• Excavation and recontouring of soils of excellent to good recharge potential;

• Development of wetlands;

• Seepage of contaminants such as hazardous or toxic substances into the soil.

The majority of water that infiltrates into the local aquifer comes through soils having excellent to good recharge potential. These soils are essential to the continuous recharge of the County's water supply. Development in areas where such soils are located can result in paving and covering of these soils so that less recharge reaches the local aquifer. Limiting impervious cover of these soils and making provision for no reduction of recharge are ways to mitigate the effects of development in highly pervious soils.

Ditches that are excavated below the water table have the potential to lower the historic water table in the vicinity of the ditch. Ditches that are below the water table and which are perpendicular to the flow of groundwater have very high potential for lowering the water table. The lowering of the water table has a two-fold effect: a lower water table reduces the volume of water available for public supply and increases the potential for saltwater intrusion. Designing ditches or swales which are higher than the water table, diversion of discharge to retention facilities for subsequent percolation into the groundwater system, minimizing ditches which are perpendicular to groundwater flow and piping of surface runoff will help reduce the adverse impacts of drainage facilities on the water table. Lakes, retention ponds and detention ponds have the same effect as ditches if they are excavated below the water table. Where possible, such drainage facilities should be designed as dry facilities except during operation.

When owners of private wells in the vicinity of the well fields pump water from the local aquifer, they reduce the volume of water available for public supply as well as lower the water table. Over pumpage during droughts can lead to further reduction of water levels and increase the potential for saltwater intrusion.

Except during emergency conditions, such as droughts, the County has little control of pumpage from private wells. However, the County may take steps to reduce outside irrigation by encouraging the use of drought resistant grasses and better irrigation practices. Education of the public on irrigation and fertilization practices could help homeowners develop lawns with deeper root systems and thus more capable of going several days between waterings.

Development of wetlands has significant impact within the area of influence of well fields. Because of the very nature of wetlands, to develop such areas requires drainage facilities. The high water table in the wetland can create problems during construction and during periods of high rainfall. Ditching and drainage facilities are designed to lower the water table of the wetland. The wetland area can serve as a means of maintaining the water table in the area around the wetland. Usually, the wetland area is at lower elevations than the surrounding land. Groundwater flow is often toward the wetland and the rate at which water is discharged to the wetland is balanced by the evapo-transpiration losses of the wetland. Draining the wetland and lowering the water table will also lower the water table of the surrounding land, thus reducing water storage in the aquifer and the volume of water available for public supply. During periods of drought, the wetland may serve as a source of recharge for the aquifer and thus reduce the adverse impact of the drought. If development is allowed, it should be a type that requires no drainage construction or impact to the water table.

The vulnerability of the groundwater system to hazardous and toxic substances has recently become an important issue to purveyors of public supplies. Such contaminants include heavy metals and a wide variety of inorganic and organic compounds such as solvents, pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, radionuclides and petroleum products. In addition to these compounds, other pollutants include viruses and microorganisms found in sewage and waste products from industrial processes. Potential sources of these contaminants are listed below:

• Landfills and dumps;

• Underground storage tanks and pipelines;

• Septic tanks;

• Direct industrial and/or municipal discharges;

• Leaks from sewer lines;

• Stormwater runoff;

• Land application of fertilizers, pesticides and chemicals;

• Accidental, indiscriminate spills or dumping.

The Santa Rosa Board of County Commissioners recently adopted an East Milton Wellfield Protection Area zoning overlay district designed to protect groundwater from contamination (see Map 4-8 ). The Comprehensive Plan also contains well head protection policies. The protection area covers almost 51 square miles from Persimmon Hollow Road to the Okaloosa County line. Groundwater, contained in underground aquifers, is the source of drinking water in Santa Rosa County. The aquifer in this area supplies water to the East Milton Water System and the Fairpoint Regional Water System, which makes available water to all of the water systems in the south end of the county. Together these water systems provide water to approximately 50 percent of the county population. The new regulations will ensure that as the county continues to grow, and as commercial and industrial development expand in that area, the groundwater aquifer will remain a viable source of drinking water for county residents. This is accomplished through use limitations as well as applicable design standards.

Map 4-8 Wellhead Protection Zones (500') and East Milton Wellfield Protection Area - Santa Rosa County

4.4.4.2 Areas of Groundwater Recharge and Aquifer Vulnerability

Aquifer Recharge

The NWFWMD publication "Hydrogeology of the Northwest Florida Water Management District" (1996) states the following regarding recharge in the western panhandle region: "Due to highly-permeable soils and the lack of effective confinement, the entire occurrence area for the aquifer is a recharge area." (http://nwfwater.com/system/assets/1535/original/WRSR9604Hydogeology_of_the_NWFWMD.compressed.pdf) The Water Resources Atlas of Florida (Fernald & Purdum, 1998) also states on page 176 that "Groundwater in Northwest Florida is replenished by local recharge with minimal out-of-state contributions. Most of the area overlying the sand and gravel aquifer is a recharge area, and discharge areas are almost always near areas being recharged….High recharge areas generally produce abundant water, but the water is also more easily contaminated."

In Santa Rosa County These areas are important to fresh water resources because they directly affect the volume of recharge entering the local aquifer. Activities that can reduce the beneficial use of these areas include:

• Paving or covering soils of excellent to good recharge potential.

• Over drainage of water table by use of deep ditches.

Both of the above activities were discussed above. The areas of groundwater recharge outside well field areas of influence are important to the County's overall water resources. Though water recharging the aquifer in these areas does not enter the public supply, it is available to homeowners through private wells. Water pumped for irrigation by individuals reduces demand on the public supply and thus enables the recharge within the area of influence to be used to supply more customers. Also, should the water table level drop in these areas, the potential for saltwater intrusion will increase with subsequent possible impact on the well fields. Thus, a reduction in recharge potential can have serious consequences throughout the County.

Aquifer Vulnerability

Map 4-9 depicts the The Florida Aquifer Vulnerability Assessment project, or FAVA, for Santa Rosa County. This assessment provides maps that identify areas more vulnerable to contamination, which may require specialized levels of planning. They are developed using a defensible, scientific approach and rely on the combination of data about the natural aquifer system and water quality. Vulnerability maps developed for the FAVA project involved regional models for each major aquifer system: the Floridan, the intermediate and the surficial. Model extents are based on where the aquifers are major sources of fresh water. Some factors affecting aquifer vulnerability and which form FAVA model input include soil properties (permeability or drainage), how deeply buried aquifers are beneath land surface, the distribution of sinkholes or collapse features, and aquifer water levels. FAVA model output consists of vulnerability maps across the given study area exhibiting the probability that an aquifer could become contaminated resulting from activities at land surface.

Map 4-9 Florida Aquifer Vulnerability Map - Santa Rosa County

4.4.4.3 Wetlands, Lakes and Floodplains

Wetlands help maintain groundwater levels and remove some pollutants present in stormwater runoff. Wetlands also serve as storage areas for stormwater. Development is one activity which threatens the beneficial use of wetlands. Development invariably leads either to drainage of the wetland, filling or in some cases, both. As used in this sub-element, a wetland refers to areas which are naturally wet during much of the year or have a water table within 6 inches of the surface for at least 3 months of the year. A wetland area includes swamps, marshes and lakes. Frequently, wetlands can be determined by the types of natural vegetation or soils. The 100-year floodplain is the area that has probability of flooding in any one year out of a hundred. The 100-year floodplain frequently encompasses an area larger than the adjacent wetlands.

The filling of the 100-year floodplain may not reduce the water table, but it does have the adverse impact of reduction of storage volume within the 100-year floodplain. When the floodplain is filled, the storage-volume is displaced by an amount equal to the volume of fill. When floods occur, the water elevation will rise to higher levels because of the reduction of storage. The higher flood levels could affect residences or businesses to the extent that they are flooded (whereas before the floodplain was filled, these establishments did not flood). To prohibit the loss of floodplain, the County should limit development in the floodplain by requiring compensating storage whenever the 100-year floodplain is filled.

4.4.4.4 Water Conservation Programs

Another key element to potable water supply planning involves protection of the water resources available through conservation. In order to offset the growing demands placed on the Floridan and Surficial Aquifer, conservation practices could be implemented include supply management and demand reduction.

Supply management practices include accurate metering, leak detection and pressure reduction. Meters are currently used to monitor water supply flow within the County. Conservation through reduction involves three primary components. These practices include conservation rate structures, reuse of wastewater effluent (which is discussed in more detail in the Wastewater Section), local water conservation ordinances, and consumer education. The characteristics of each utility and their respective customers determine the effectiveness of these practices.

Reuse in Santa Rosa County

Currently, in Santa Rosa County, the City of Gulf Breeze/South Santa Rosa Utilities and the Pace Water System, Inc. offer reclaimed water to residential lots for irrigation use. The use of reclaimed water for irrigation represents an alternative to either using potable Sand-and-Gravel water or individual surficial aquifer wells for lawn irrigation. Pace Water System, Inc. currently disposes of all effluent either to residential lots, commercial and golf course customers or to a wetland treatment system. Pace reported a total of 386 reuse customers with total flow of 0.363 Mg/d which represents about 31% of total system effluent. The City of Gulf Breeze operates an existing 3.0 Mg/d permitted capacity reuse system and has major customers include several spray irrigation areas exceeding 531 acres, including the Tiger Point Golf Course and the Gulf Breeze Zoo area. The Navarre Beach WWTP currently discharges into Santa Rosa Sound. However, plans are underway to discharge reclaimed water from the Navarre Beach facility into a regional reclaimed water system with reserve capacity designed to meet the future needs of south Santa Rosa County. Currently the Navarre Beach Water System is using 32,000 gallons per day of reclaimed water for irrigation at the Navarre Beach Sewage Treatment Plant. This is currently the only reuse application related to the Navarre Beach WWTP. Individual homeowners and multi-family uses on Navarre Beach either utilize potable water or individual surficial aquifer wells for irrigation. There have been relatively few irrigation wells permitted on Navarre Beach since 2000. This is most likely due to a combination of homeowners using potable water for irrigation and a general lack of landscaping requiring water on the beach due to the sandy nature of most beach yards.

In general, most residential development within the County utilizes either a shallow private well for irrigation or potable water for irrigation. There have been numerous irrigation wells permitted in the Pace area and in the southern portions of the County since 2000. These wells represent a better alternative to the utilization of high quality drinking water for irrigation and represent a significant barrier to the retrofit installation of reuse.

Water Resources Caution Area (WRCA)

In response to existing and anticipated water supply problems, the WMD has designated the coastal area of Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties as a Water Resource Caution Area (WRCA). Refer to Map 4-10 below.

The WRCA designation subjects all non-exempt withdrawals to more rigorous scrutiny to ensure that the proposed withdrawal does not result in unacceptable impacts to the resource. Permittees within a WRCA also have increased water use reporting requirements, must implement water conservation measures, and must improve water use efficiencies. They are also required to perform an evaluation of the technical, environmental, and economic feasibility of providing reclaimed water for reuse. In Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties, the WCRA designation prohibits any new or expanded use of the Floridan Aquifer for nonpotable purposes.

Map 4-10: Water Resource Caution Area

Regional Water Supply Plan

In order to aid in the development of alternative water supplies, a Regional Water Supply Plan (RWSP) that includes Santa Rosa County was developed initially in 2001 and was subsequently updated in 2006 and 2012. The RWSP was initially developed by the water management district to provide a strategy to meet the needs of the region and to protect the region's water resources and related natural systems. This plan included a strategy for water resource conservation and water supply development. The update to the RWSP centered on 1) completing the 2000 Report tasks and ongoing work; 2) increasing the amount of reclaimed water use (reuse water); and 3) identifying and initiating work on long range (2025 and beyond) solutions. The most recent update to the RWSP (2012) provides updated water usage forecast and includes the same basic strategies as previous versions.

Section 163.3164(c)3, F.S. requires that within 18 months of the approval of an updated RWSP, the County Comprehensive Plan must incorporate the alternative water supply project or projects selected by the local government from those identified within the RWSP. Importantly, the statute calls for the inclusion of alternative water supply projects, conservation and reuse necessary to meet the needs identified within the RWSP. The Comprehensive Plan is to also include a work plan that covers at least 10 years for building public, private, and regional water supply facilities, including the development of alternative water supplies.

The Florida Legislature has also established a coordinated planning process between the Regional Water Supply Plan developed by the District pursuant to Chapter 373, Florida Statutes (F.S.), and the Santa Rosa County Comprehensive Plan. Under this process, the County must address in its Comprehensive Plan, the water supply sources necessary to meet and achieve existing and projected water use demand for the established planning period considering the Regional Water Supply Plan (Section 163.3167(9), F.S.). This Work Plan is intended to accomplish coordinated water supply planning and to satisfy these statutory requirements. The most recent Water Supply Facilities Work Plan is incorporated herein by reference and the Comprehensive Plan was amended in 2013 to meet these requirements. Figure 4-3 , found on the following page, describes the relationship between the Regional Water Supply Plan, this Water Supply Facilities Work Plan and the County Comprehensive Plan including County water policy development.

Figure 4-3: Relationship of Water Supply Facilities Work Plan to the County Comprehensive Plan

Fairpoint Regional Utility

The Fairpoint Regional Utility System was established in response to the Floridan Aquifer Resource Recovery Plan, and was designed to provide potable water to the portion of Santa Rosa County located within the Water Resource Caution Area utilizing the Sand-and Gravel Aquifer as an alternate water source. Production wells have been developed along with a pipeline in order to develop water production from the inland Sand and Gravel Aquifer for use in the coastal portions of the County. This development alleviates pumping pressures in the WRCA or from the coastal Floridan Aquifer. The Fairpoint Regional Utility System sells water to the City of Gulf Breeze as a sole source, to the Holley Navarre Water System, the Midway Water System, and the Navarre Beach Water System as mentioned previously. All potable water supplied by the FRUS is harvested through six production wells.