Alternative Water Supply: Thinking Outside the Biscayne Aquifer
By Mark Perkins, Public Information Officer, North Miami Beach Public Services Department

In an effort to create a balance between South Florida’s growing water needs and the need to protect and restore our natural resources, one thing is clear: We need to find and utilize alternative water sources.

According to the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), Florida’s regional agency charged with managing and protecting water resources by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply, Miami-Dade and Broward counties rely on water pulled from the Biscayne Aquifer, a highly productive portion of the surficial aquifer system in South Florida. The Biscayne Aquifer covers an area of 3,200 square miles and ranges in depth from 100 feet to 250 feet. Water utilities as a group pump approximately 786 million gallons a day from the Biscayne Aquifer. With an anticipated 20 percent increase in demand by the year 2020, relying solely on this source may make the highly permeable Biscayne Aquifer, susceptible to saltwater intrusion.

The City of North Miami Beach is the water utility for Sunny Isles Beach, and as with other water service providers in the county, they have all relied solely on water drawn from the Biscayne Aquifer.

“We are dedicated to protecting our precious water resources and the environment while working diligently to meet the demand of our customers and future generations,” said Kelvin L. Baker, director of the North Miami Beach Public Services Department. “Thinking outside the Biscayne Aquifer and tapping into alternative sources of water does just that.”

In partnership with the SFWMD, North Miami Beach has developed a program to use an alternative water supply in its water treatment plant expansion program. Four wells drilled into the Floridan Aquifer, which is located over 1,000 feet below the surface, will provide an alternative water supply. The brackish water pulled from the upper layers of the Floridan Aquifer is suitable for drinking provided it is purified through reverse osmosis, which is a special membrane water treatment process. This alternative water supply system—the first of its kind in Miami-Dade County—will produce around 6 million gallons of high-quality water per day.

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