Palm Beach County is located in southeastern Florida, north of the Everglades. The County's population is approximately 860,000. Its land uses vary from urban to rural, with development concentrated along the Atlantic coastline and the Lake Okeechobee shoreline. Approximately 80 percent of the County's drinking water is supplied by ground water. Thirty- seven of over 400 public drinking water wells in the County have been contaminated by industrial solvents. In order to protect ground water, a wellhead protection ordinance was developed and enacted in 1988. The ordinances establishes standards for use, handling, production, and storage of regulated substances in the zones of regulation surrounding a wellfield. Implementation of the ordinance requires coordination among 30 utilities and 25 county and municipal government agencies. 65 companies have reduced chemical usage to bleow regulatory thresholds, thus becoming exempt from the ordinance.s

Industries, a primary source of potential ground water contamination in Palm Beach County, have a good record of compliance with the ordinance. The public's enthusiasm for this ordinance was evidenced by an 85 percent approval in a 1987 referendum.

Return to Success Stories

© Copyright