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In 1926, the City of Fort Lauderdale constructed its first groundwater supply well. At that time, the city had a population of approximately 8,000 and had little competition for water. Fort Lauderdale, which is located in Broward County in southeast Florida, was a quiet farming community. The first production wells were located approximately four miles inland away from any potential users or conflicts. This wellfield, known as the Dixie Wellfield, was located in an isolated area of the County and thought to be an ideal site for water supply. By the 21st Century, flood protection and the sub-tropical climate of southeast Florida had attracted over 5 million people to the area. In the 1950s, the City had to expand their raw water supply to meet increasing water demands and began development of a second wellfield known as the Prospect Wellfield. Today, the Prospect Wellfield provides approximately 75% of the City's raw water. Growth is estimated to continue with a doubling of the local population by 2020. The unprecedented growth has not come without a price. Issues related to development (i.e., land use), wellhead protection, saltwater intrusion, contamination, and competing users have created a unique situation in the region. Future water supply is also wrapped up in the Federal Government's Everglades restoration project. The restoration program is proposing untested water projects including a 1.5-billion gallon per day aquifer storage and recovery system and deepwater reservoirs in the Biscayne Aquifer to meet future water needs. In addition, the dynamic state of regulations pertaining to Florida's consumptive use program will not provide definitive direction to utilities until 2020. This paper discusses how the city of Fort Lauderdale has worked through the tough local source protection issues to ensure a safe and reliable water supply to its residents. This paper discusses issues related to numerous source protection issues that are unique to the local area. Includes figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 01/19/2003 Number of Pages: 11 File Size: 1 file , 990 KB