OUR MISSION: Quality Service For Our Members
Bonita Springs Utilities is a not-for-profit water and wastewater utility
dedicated to providing safe, reliable potable water and wastewater treatment,
emphasizing responsible protection of our resources at the most effective cost
to all members. At the same time, we will defend our policy of socially and
environmentally sound management of employee, plant and fiscal resources. We are
proud to continue to earn our community’s trust as your locally owned and
operated utility.
THE WATER WE DRINK
In 1971, a group of residents formed Bonita Springs Utilities, Inc. (BSU) to
provide potable water for a handful of homes. Since then, BSU has grown with
Bonita Springs and now provides water service to almost 38,000 customers within
its 57-square-mile service area.
This report, required by law, provides data about the quality of the water
provided by BSU during 2006. BSU welcomes the opportunity to share this
information with you. It’s important that you know where our water comes from,
what it contains and the risks that our water treatment is designed to prevent.
Informed customers are our best allies in maintaining safe drinking water.
We’re happy to report that our drinking water meets all federal and state
requirements. The Board of Directors and staff of Bonita Springs Utilities are
pleased to present this report.
WHERE OUR WATER COMES FROM
Bonita Springs’ drinking water production starts with water located deep
beneath the ground. Groundwater for the lime-softening process comes from the
Lower Tamiami Aquifer, a thick sequence of porous limestone and clay beneath the
earth’s surface. Groundwater for the reverse-osmosis process comes from the
Lower Hawthorne Aquifer, which contains more brackish water.
Bonita Springs Utilities owns and operates two well fields (20 wells) for the
lime-softening water process. One well field is located at East Terry Street
parallel to I-75, and the other is located east of Bonita Grande. The 20
lime-softening wells have an average depth of 100 feet.
Eight additional wells at a depth of 800 feet supply water for the
reverse-osmosis water process placed into service in March 2004.
Bonita Springs Utilities follows the principles and practices recommended by
many experts within the utility industry to ensure our members a safe, reliable
and efficient water system. We test and monitor your water to ensure compliance
with state and federal regulatory requirements and are committed to your health,
safety and welfare.
CONTAMINANTS
The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include
rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs and wells. As water travels
over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally
occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material. It can also pick up
substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.
To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) prescribes limits on the amount of certain contaminants in water provided
by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish
limits, which must provide the same protection for public health, for
contaminants in bottled water.
All drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to
contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of
contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk.
More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained
by calling the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the
general population. Immunocompromised persons, such as persons with cancer
undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people
with HIV/AIDS or other immune-system disorders, some elderly and infants, can be
particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about
drinking water from their healthcare providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on
appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other
microbial contaminates are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at
1-800-426-4791.
Note: Bonita Springs Utilities is not required to test for the unregulated
contaminant Cryptosporidium because our source water is from wells, not surface
waters.
Contaminants that may be present in source water include:
- Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may
come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock
operations and wildlife.
- Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can occur
naturally or can result from urban-stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic
wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming.
- Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of
sources such as agriculture, stormwater runoff and residential use.
- Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile
organics, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum
production, and also can come from gas stations, urban-stormwater runoff and
septic systems.
- Radioactive contaminants, which can occur naturally or result
from oil and gas production and mining activities.
IN CONCLUSION
Bonita Springs is one of the fastest growing communities in Southwest
Florida. To accommodate continued growth, Bonita Springs Utilities completed and
placed into service in 2004 the first phase of a state-of-the-art
reverse-osmosis plant with a current capacity of 6 million gallons per day. The
construction of the RO plant helps preserve our lime-softening well fields by
drawing the source water from a different, deeper aquifer and helps ensure that
our present member-customers will continue to enjoy an adequate, safe supply of
drinking water. The RO process, together with the lime-softening water process,
can provide a total of 14 million gallons of water per day for our customers.
The Southeast Desalting Association honored our RO plant with the 2005/2006
Plant of the Year Award for the 10-state region.
As our population continues to grow, demand for water will continue to increase.
Our responsibility is to provide quality water to every tap. Everyone, however,
must help protect our community’s valuable water resources to maintain them in a
usable form for present and future generations.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW MORE …
Bonita Springs Utilities is a member-owned utility, and we want you, our
member-customers, to be informed about your water quality. Our governing body is
an elected board of directors, which meets the first and third Tuesdays of every
month at 5 p.m.
If you have questions about this report or your water utility, please contact
Bonita Springs Utilities Operations Director Mel Fisher at (239) 992-0711.
En Espanol – Si usted tiene alguna pregunta sobre este informe favor de
llamar a Bonita Springs Utilities al (239) 992-0711.
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