Palm Beach County (FL) Can't Come Up W. $500K To Test Drinking Water Wells For Hazardous Chemicals

Palm Beach County drinking-water wellfield protections remain stuck in limbo, with county commissioners and city officials differing over who should pay for inspections aimed at preventing contamination.

The County Commission this year cut funding for a countywide wellfield-protection program, which was in place since the 1980s to create a defense against gas stations, oil-change shops, dry cleaners and industrial development polluting the wells that provide 80 percent of the local drinking water.

After years of funding the voter-approved program on its own, the county this year wanted local utilities to start sharing in the $500,000-a-year cost to monitor and inspect potential polluters. But most cities — including Boca Raton, Delray Beach and West Palm Beach — said no.

With just the county, Delray Beach, Lake Worth and Lantana paying to keep the program going for their own water, that leaves about half of the local groundwater supply uncovered by what was intended to be a countywide safety net. That would cut a program that once had six full-time employee monitoring potential threats to local drinking water down to two full-time employees and one part-timer.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-wellfield-protections-palm-20120327,0,7022755.story