Precautionary Boil Water Notice (PBWN)

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The PBWN below was rescinded on Wednesday, March 16th at 7:15AM.

March 14, 2022

Destin Water Users issued a PBWN effective Monday, March 14th at 10:00am. The 8” water main serving the strip plaza at 14091 Emerald Coast Pkwy (Emerald Coast Center) was shut down to facilitate repairs to a broken 8” water main on private property.  See below for a map of the affected area. Pending sample results this PBWN should be rescinded on the morning of Wednesday, March 16th.


Precautionary Boil Water Notice (PBWN)

You may have heard about or noticed a significant increase in the number of precautionary boil water notices (PBWN) issued by Destin Water Users, Inc. and other local water utilities in the recent past. Does this mean that the quality and safety or our water has declined? Does this mean that DWU’s water mains are breaking more so than in the past? Absolutely not! Rather, changes in regulatory rules are now requiring that water utilities in Florida issue precautionary boil water notices whenever water service to an area has been turned off, if even for a short while. Why is the issuance of a PBWN required? When breaks or changes occur in water lines, the normal pressure in the line may be reduced or lost and the possibility exists for contaminants to enter that line. The odds of this happening are extremely remote, but to be extra cautious precautionary boil water notices are placed in effect while routine bacteriological sampling is conducted. Usually, two separate sets of samples are taken, each needing 24 hours to be considered complete. When both sets of samples come back “clean”, the precautionary boil water notice is lifted (or “rescinded”). These advisories only affect water that is intended for consumption or cooking.

For more information on PBWN click HERE

If you provide water to visitors or employees, use commercially produced bottled water for drinking or beverage preparation (coffee) during the PBWN. You should also take steps such as posting notices at, or disabling water fountains and ice machines. Foodservice operations have several additional requirements and should contact the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation at (850)487-1395 for specific instructions.

For more information on food industry requirements click HERE

Hurricanes 

DWU has emergency plans in place for hurricane response and will do everything possible to make necessary repairs in an efficient and timely manner. Should you experience either a loss of water service or a noticeable loss in water pressure during or after a hurricane, we recommend you take additional steps to disinfect any water intended for consumption or cooking until the water system is restored.

For more information on emergency disinfection of drinking water click HERE

Blood Drive “You Have Greater Powers Than You Know!”

The Big Red Bus is coming to DWU for our next blood drive on Wednesday, February 22nd from 9:00AM-2:00PM.

To reserve your appointment click here.

OneBlood incentives include $20 E-gift certificates and Long Sleeve T-Shirt for all donors.

 If you’re unsure of your eligibility to donate click here for more information.

**You can donate whole blood once every 8 weeks (56 days) for a total of 6 donations per year.

Most individuals who were once deferred for travel to the U.K., France, and Ireland should now be eligible to donate blood, assuming they meet all other donor requirements. See message below for details.

 

Reclaimed Water Irrigation Schedule

Weekly watering times are indicated below: (Effective March 1, 2016)

NORTH ZONE EAST ZONE SOUTH ZONE
SUNDAY
MONDAY MIDNIGHT – 10:00AM, 2:00 PM – MIDNIGHT
TUESDAY MIDNIGHT – 10:00AM, 2:00 PM – MIDNIGHT MIDNIGHT – 10:00AM, 2:00 PM – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY MIDNIGHT – 10:00AM, 2:00 PM – MIDNIGHT
THURSDAY MIDNIGHT – 10:00AM, 2:00 PM – MIDNIGHT MIDNIGHT – 10:00AM, 2:00 PM – MIDNIGHT
FRIDAY MIDNIGHT – 10:00AM, 2:00 PM – MIDNIGHT
SATURDAY MIDNIGHT – 10:00AM, 2:00 PM – MIDNIGHT MIDNIGHT – 10:00AM, 2:00 PM – MIDNIGHT

Suggested Daily Watering Schedule

Based on the last digit of your address, please adjust your irrigation to one of these times on your watering days:

MIDNIGHT – 5:00 AM ODD ADDRESS
5:00AM – 10:00AM EVEN ADDRESS
2:00PM – 7:00PM ODD ADDRESS
7:00PM – MIDNIGHT EVEN ADDRESS

To confirm your reclaimed water service zone please see the map located HERE. These watering times are effective year round. However, DWU may leave mains open if excess water is available (winter and summer). For more information regarding our reclaimed water program click HERE

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Fred Mehlos, our Reclaimed Program Coordinator either by email at Fred Mehlos or by phone at 850-585-7297.

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO WATERING FROM 10AM-2PM DAILY. Water used during this time is often wasted more than it is beneficial due to evaporation in the heat of the day.

DWU Statement on PFOA/PFOS

Military Times reported on April 26th that “the water at or around 126 military installations contains potentially harmful levels of perfluorinated compounds…”, “…and more than 90 sites that reported either on-base or off-base drinking water or groundwater contamination, in which the water source tested above the Environmental Protection Agency’s acceptable levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate or perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOS and PFOA.” These compounds are used in concentrated forms on military airfields in the foaming agents used to put our aircraft fires.

This report was based on sample results from 2017 in which the Department of Defense tested various sites for the unregulated compounds of concern. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) utilizes what is known as Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) to collect data for contaminants that are suspected to be present in drinking water and do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Testing for these contaminants was required of drinking water systems throughout the nation during the UCMR 3 round of testing performed in 2013 and again in 2014.

Destin Water Users did participate in the UCMR 3 water testing which included samples taken from all drinking water wells. DWU feels it is important to inform our customers that all results were absent of the PFOS and PFOA compounds, and there is no reason for our customers to be alarmed by the recent news report.

In Destin and most of the surrounding area, our sole drinking water source is groundwater from the Upper Floridan Aquifer- a deep underground limestone aquifer protected from surface water influences by a confining layer. Because of the nature of our aquifer, there is no direct recharge from the shallow ground water in our area and therefore contamination from perflourinated compounds is unlikely.

To read more on the news release, please go to https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/04/26/dod-126-bases-report-water-contaminants-harmful-to-infant-development-tied-to-cancers/

For more information on the PFOA and PFOS compounds, please refer to the EPA website at  https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/drinking-water-health-advisories-pfoa-and-pfos

DWU Responds to Recent News Reports

WEAR TV3 reported on Thursday, September 22nd that Chromium-6, “The Erin Brockovich” chemical, had been found in local water supplies in Northwest Florida. This report was based on sample results from 2013-2014 which tested for a list of potential contaminants in drinking water which are not currently regulated. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) utilizes what is known as Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) to collect data for contaminants that are suspected to be present in drinking water and do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

Destin Water Users did participate in the UCMR water testing which included samples taken from all of our drinking water wells and locations throughout our distribution system. DWU feels it is important to inform our customers that all of our results were absent of the Chromium-6 chemical, and there is no reason for our customers to be alarmed by the recent news report.

In other news, ABC reported on Tuesday, September 20th that “Scores of residents in Polk County, Florida have requested water quality testing after a fertilizer plant admitted a sinkhole on its property leached 215 million gallons of “slightly radioactive” water into the local Florida aquifer”.

Polk County is located east of Tampa and this was a localized event which the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has been closely monitoring. The results of their sampling has indicated that affected water is being successfully contained, and that there is no evidence of offsite movement or threat to our drinking water source here in Destin.

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