Brevard County trying to conserve water as population surges, demand increases
VIERA, Fla. - Brevard County is growing so fast that local leaders are worried about running out of water.
The population is expected to increase by almost 20% by 2035, so they’re looking into new water management ideas to reuse and conserve crucial resources.
Reusing wastewater is one recommendation in the county's new water management plan to guide policies. The plan passed 5-0 at a planning and zoning meeting on Monday. The county is looking ahead to ensuring its residents don’t run out of water.
"More people means more water," said Edward Fontanin, the utility services director for Brevard County.
In the coming years, Brevard County will need more water because many more people are moving into the area. According to the new water supply plan, the county’s population will increase by 17% by 2035, and water use will increase by 34 %.
"How are we going to support all these people?" Terry Elam asked, worried about the existing infrastructure.
The county said it needs to find new sources of freshwater because the aquifers and wells may be unable to keep up with demand.
"As we’re looking at expansion, we’re looking at using brackish water. By doing that, there’s a lot more of it. It costs a little more to make fresh water out of it, but there’s a lot more of the resource," said Fontanin.
The county plans to expand water treatment facilities in the north and south of the county with reverse osmosis technology to filter out salt.
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"Water conservation is something we absolutely need. It’s required, especially with the growth," added another water user, Amyleigh Berner.
Other Florida cities like Tampa have also considered "toilet to tap" conservation strategies.
When considering that proposal, Berner said, "I wouldn’t want that. I wouldn’t want my child drinking that."
At least for now, the county is betting on brackish water before turning to toilets. FOX 35 News asked Fontanin if he thought Florida should consider reusing toilet water to make it potable.
He said, "I mean, the technology is there," but he wouldn’t move that way until the state asked him to.
While the technology may be there, it’s still difficult for people to swallow the thought of drinking toilet water. FOX 35 looked into this and only found two states, Colorado and California, that do "toilet to tap" statewide. In Brevard, re-used wastewater would only be used for irrigation in the new plan.