Florida: Tallahassee - WHP Partnership Increases Scope of Protection in
Tallahassee
Background
The local economy in Tallahassee, Florida (the state's capital), is largely based on
providing services necessary to sustain state agencies, two universities, and one
community college. There is relatively little heavy industry; instead, the area's major
businesses include automotive facilities, dry cleaners, and a variety of light industries.
Tallahassee operates 29 wells tapping a karst aquifer, part of the Floridan Aquifer
System. The city supplies its customers with over 25 million gallons of water per day.
The quality of the ground water is good, and generally disinfection and fluoridation are
the only treatments applied prior to distribution. However, the city's water quality
monitoring program detected TCE (tetrachloroethylene) contamination in seven wells in
the older part of the city. The source of the TCE was apparently solvents that degreased
machine parts, disposed of by dry cleaners and businesses in the area. Although the
practices that caused the problem are illegal now, TCE has infiltrated the aquifer over
the years. Large capital and remediation expenses for the municipal water system to
extract the solvents and provide ongoing monitoring to ensure a safe water supply for
customers have resulted.
The discovery of TCE contamination prompted the City of Tallahassee to partner with
Leon County in 1992 to develop a county-wide Aquifer/Wellhead Protection Ordinance
and Aquifer Protection Program. The goal of the partnership was to offset a standard for
aquifer protection in the region beyond the municipal limits of Tallahassee, in order to
educate and assist business owners with chemical and waste issues, and to educate
citizens in prevention of ground water contamination.
Priority Contamination Threat
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is the priority contamination threat.
Local Involvement and Developing the Protection Plan
The Aquifer/Wellhead Protection Ordinance was primarily developed by Tallahassee and
Leon County officials, the Florida State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP),
Leon County Health Department, Northwest Florida Water Management District, and the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Staff from both the city and the county worked hand in
hand with a technical advisory committee of local scientists and decision makers to
create the ordinance. Much of the ordinance's evolution took place at public workshops.
Citizens, as well as concerned organizations (e.g., the local Sierra Club) were
encouraged to offer input and ask questions at these events.
In the mid-1990s,the public was actively recruited for an outreach and assessment effort
aimed at publicizing the activities of the Program and promoting aquifer/source water
protection (the "Model Approach" program). For example, a large organizational meeting
was held to initiate the source water potential contaminant source inventories and to
provide training. A local chapter of RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program)
conducted a pilot project to inventory potential contaminant sources (PCSs) within 500
feet of several wellheads. This project was funded through the U.S. EPA in the mid-
office of Water (4606M) 816F10006 January 2010
-------
1990s. Such community participation proved to be a positive experience for the
Aquifer/Wellhead Protection Program, and similar PCS inventory efforts have been
implemented over subsequent years utilizing city, county, and state funds. This activity
has given the region a head start on meeting SDWA source water assessment
requirements. The Tallahassee Water Utility frequently distributes informational
brochures on relevant topics [e.g., best management practices (BMPs)] to utility
customers. Homeowners are encouraged by the Aquifer Protection Program to take
certain actions to prevent ground water pollution, including recycling of used oil, proper
use and disposal of household chemicals, and protection of private wells.
Management Measures
The Tallahassee and Leon County Aquifer/Wellhead Protection Ordinance provides
legal restrictions aimed at preventing contamination of the aquifer. The City of
Tallahassee's Aquifer Protection Coordinator is responsible for implementing Leon
County's Aquifer/Wellhead Protection Ordinance as well as other components of the
Aquifer Protection Program. In addition, city staff perform frequent onsite inspections of
local businesses, such as auto shops and printers, to ensure that they are handling
regulated substances properly. These inspectors are also subcontracted by Leon County
to find out if industries are storing wastes improperly on their property instead of
disposing of them at appropriate facilities. The Aquifer Protection Program establishes
requirements for local businesses which include the following:
• Registration: businesses or facilities that manufacture, store, or use regulated
substances in quantities greater than five gallons or 50 pounds must register with
the City's Aquifer Protection Section and be subject to inspection;
• Containment: facilities must use trays, curbing, absorbents, or other containment
systems around all containers of regulated substances;
• Visual inspections: containers holding regulated substances must be inspected
by facility personnel on a weekly basis;
• Reporting spills: any discharge or leak of regulated substances to the
environment above established thresholds must be reported to the Aquifer
Protection Section;
• Proper disposal of waste: regulated facilities must be able to show that a
Certified Waste Hauler is engaged to dispose of regulated wastes in an
environmentally acceptable manner and also keep inventory records to
demonstrate that used or waste products are being disposed of properly;
• Discharge of regulated substances: septic tanks, drain fields, floor drains, grease
traps, and oil/water separators must be constructed in a manner to prevent
infiltration of regulated substances to soil, ground water, or surface water;
• Regulation of wells: heat exchange wells, drainage and injection wells,
abandoning of unused wells, and geotechnical borings are subject to regulation;
and
• Reporting of sinkholes: newly formed sinkholes must be reported to the Aquifer
Protection Section before backfilling with uncontaminated material of lower
permeability than the surrounding soil.
These regulated activities, rather than imposing land use prohibitions or restrictions, rely
on materials management, BMPs implementation, operator education, and limited
engineering controls (e.g., secondary containment).
Office of Water (4606M) 816F10006 January 2010
-------
Contingency Planning
The wellhead protection program does not specify any certain contingency plan because
Regional Planning Councils in the area have all developed plans to follow in the event of
an emergency. Contingency plans have also been developed as a requirement of
federal NPDES policy.
Measuring Program Effectiveness
Aggressive water quality monitoring is a key assessment tool for Tallahassee. The
effectiveness of drinking water protection measures can be assessed directly and
quantitatively, using federal and state guidelines. Monitoring wells are located in
sensitive locations (e.g., a wastewater sprayfield) throughout the county and are tested
frequently. The number of water quality analyses conducted each year by the
Tallahassee Water Quality Division, typically over 110,000, attests to the important role
of water quality monitoring in protecting water supplies.
Contact
Koren Taylor, P.G.
Aquifer Protection Coordinator
(850) 891-1200
Office of Water (4606M) 816F10006 January 2010
------- |