Your drinking water not affected by aquifer contamination

Jacksonville, Fla. — With contaminated water potentially leaking in to a main source of drinking water in Florida, we’re learning Northeast Florida consumers are in the clear.

A sinkhole opened under waste material at a fertilizer plant in central Florida, allowing more than 200 million gallons of contaminated waste water to potentially seep in to the Floridan aquifer. The phosphate company involved, Mosaic, says they're monitoring groundwater, but have not found offsite impacts.

The 45-foot diameter sinkhole was actually discovered at the end of August.

The sinkhole is believed to reach to the Floridan aquifer, which is a major source of drinking water across the state, including in the Jacksonville area. Because of that, WOKV reached out to local water management entities to see if there was any threat to your safety.

“Be assured that JEA’s drinking water continues to be safe and unaffected by what occurred with the phosphate plant incident in central Florida,” says a portion of a statement from JEA.

The utility says the local portion of the aquifer is protected by a thick layer of clay. The statement further says that they’re not concerned about any potential contamination making it in to the local water because of the different ways the aquifers are structured and the different ways they flow in the two regions.

The St. Johns River Water Management District echoed that, saying the 18 counties they serve- including all of the Jacksonville-metro area- are not at risk.

“Because the spill was located in Polk County near the Hillsborough County line and the groundwater flow in the Upper Floridan aquifer is generally to the southwest, the spill should not affect water supplies in the district,” says a statement from SJRWMD Executive Director Dr. Ann Shortelle.

JEA further says that, while this incident is not affecting local water, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection does continue to frequently test local sources.

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