Water

Do you know who provides your drinking water?

If you are a Pompano Beach Water Customer call
954.786.4637 for a customer service representative

If you are a Broward County Water Customer call
954.831.3250 for a customer service representative

View the Map and Legend of Service Areas

Annual Water Quality Report

To view the drinking water Annual Water Quality Report, please click on this link or the image inside this box.

Treatment

Did you ever wonder how water gets to your faucet?

Our drinking water is pumped from the Biscayne Aquifer to the land surface at two wellfield sites and transported to the Water Treatment Plant. The City of Pompano Beach has two water treatment plants. One uses traditional lime filtration and the other membrane filtration.

At the plant, the water is membrane softened or lime softened and filtered, fluoridated, optimized for corrosion control and disinfected prior to entering the water distribution system.

Distribution

Our Water Distribution Division is responsible for the construction and repairs of the City’s water distribution system – all 270 miles! Typically, you can see City crews in the field working on meter change-outs and water leak repairs. Occasionally, you’ll also find our City crews performing flushing or free chlorine treatments – these are all common Utility best maintenance practices to keep your drinking water of the highest quality! With an aging 270 miles of water lines, this Division is in motion year-round performing maintenance and repairs throughout the City’s water service area.

Laboratory

Hourly, daily, monthly, and annual testing is conducted to ensure that all water quality parameters are continually met throughout the system – including at our source water, at our Water Treatment Plant and at the furthest point of our water distribution system. In fact, over 80 compounds are monitored in our source water and drinking water, and water quality testing is performed monthly at 90 sites on a rotating basis.

If you have any questions about your drinking water quality, please contact the Laboratory Manager at (954) 545-7018.

Water Quality Safeguards

The City of Pompano Beach always puts our water quality and public health first. Here are some of the steps we have taken to ensure this:

• Conducted Lead and Copper testing at customer homes, with all sites passing.
• Hourly, daily, monthly, and annual testing conducted to ensure that all water quality parameters are continually met throughout the system, including at our source water, at the Water Treatment Plant and at the furthest point of the water distribution system
• Sophisticated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system continually monitors all plant processes and notifies operators if any parameters are approaching permitted limits.
• Online analyzers, approved by EPA, continually monitor the water throughout the Treatment Plant and as the water leaves the Plant.
• Six automatic analyzers and thirty-two pressure transducers located in different sections of the water distribution system continually monitor chlorine residuals and pressure.
• The State has designated our Water Treatment Plant as having demonstrated the ability to reduce pathogens in water by 99.99%.
• The Utilities Department has a robust Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), Capital Replacement Plan (CRP), and operation and maintenance budgets to demonstrate our commitment to investing in our infrastructure to ensure sustainability.
• Comprehensive tri-annual inspections of our Water Treatment Plant, wells and procedures conducted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to ensure we meet all regulatory requirements.

Water for People

The City of Pompano Beach supports "water for people". This is an international non-profit working across 9 countries to bring safe water and sanitation to 4 million people.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the watering restrictions for Pompano Beach?

Click here to find out about the year round watering restrictions

Is our drinking water safe to drink?

Our drinking water is routinely tested at the source (our production wells), at the plant, and throughout the distribution system to ensure it meets water quality requirement and bacterial safety. The data is provided to the Broward County Health department who deems our water safe to drink. Please see our annual Water Quality Report.

How is our drinking water treated?

Our drinking water is pumped from the Biscayne aquifer to the land surface at two wellfield sites and transported to the water treatment plant. At the plant, the water is membrane softened or lime softened and filtered, fluoridated and disinfected prior to entering the water distribution system.

What testing is done on the drinking water?

Over 80 compounds are monitored in the drinking water and source water. The City also tests over 90 sites monthly throughout the City for bacteria. Water Quality testing is performed monthly at 90 sites on a rotating bases. Automatic water quality instrumentation also collects water quality data every 15 minutes and sends this information to the Water treatment Plant.

Does our water meet regulatory limits?

Our drinking water consistently meets regulatory requirements at the source, water treatment plant and in the distribution system.

Why is it that my drinking water tastes different than my friend's drinking water in another city?

Even though there are federal and state laws that regulate water quality, local laws are also implemented and cause a difference in the water end product. Source and treatment techniques also result in different taste.

Why does my water smell funny?

This may be from your home being vacant and the water in the water heater has gone bad from the anode in the water heater.

Why does my water look brown or yellow?

This may be caused by the distribution system being worked on in your area and water mains being flushed after repairs. The velocity of flushing may cause color change.

What is the pink film on my surfaces?

A pink film or residue on bathroom and kitchen surfaces generally does not indicate a problem with water quality, it is likely a result of airborne bacteria (Serratia marcesens) present in the home that produce a pinkish or dark grey film on surfaces that are routinely moist (toilet bowls, showerheads, sink drains tiles, a pet's water bowl). The bacteria is naturally found in soil, food, and in animals. Serratia, thrive on moisture, dust and phosphates and need almost nothing to survive. The bacteria were thought to be harmless until recently, when it was discovered that in some people, Serratia marcesens is a cause of urinary tract infections, wound infections and pneumonia. The pinkish film often appears during or after construction, when dust and dirt containing Serratia bacteria are stirred up. Once airborne, they will seek a moist location where it can proliferate. The best solution to this problem is to continually clean the surfaces to keep them free from bacteria. Chlorine-based compounds work best.

What is the hardness of the water?

Our water typically has a hardness of 1 to 2 grains.

What is a backflow preventer?

This is an assembly that prevents water from flowing into the City water distribution system due to pressure changes in the customer system or the city system.

Why do I have to install a backflow at my home, business?

It is required by City Ordinance and state law that all commercial properties and irrigation services will be protected with a customer supplied backflow.

What do those blue, green, red, yellow, purple and orange marks mean in front of my property?

These markings are used to identify underground utilities such as blue: potable water; green: waste water, force main, storm water; red: power; yellow: gas; purple: reuse water; orange: communications (telephone, cable, tv)

Can you come to my house and locate where my water lines are?

No, the City only locates lines owned by us on City right of way or within City easements. There are locating services available by private contractors at customer's expense.

Do I have to pay for the water that went through my meter because of a leak and I did not really use it?

Yes, but check with the customer service manager.

With water conservation being a priority, why is the City flushing water from the hydrants onto the street?

Water main flushing is a normal maintenance procedure of a water distribution system to keep the City in compliance with water quality standards.

Is bottled water better than tap water?

There is no evidence to show that bottled water is better than tap water. All tap water is required to meet strict standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The water provided by community water systems is regularly tested for compliance with state and federal regulations. The Book, Plain Talk about Drinking Water, by Dr. James Symons, states that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires bottled water quality standards to be equal to those of the USEPA for tap water, but the quality of the finished product is not government-monitored. He further states that in May 2001, a Swiss-base conservation group, World Wide Fund for Nature, reported that, "Bottle water may be no safer or healthier than tap water in many countries while it sells for up to 1,000 times the price." The group also noted that 1.5 million tons of plastic are used each year to bottle water. "Americans spend $3 billion annually to buy this product -half the amount the country spends to protect tap water."

To find out how reuse is a sustainable solution for our thirsty planet, go to www.athirstyplanet.com

The Utilities Department has become a partner with WaterSense, a conservation program and information clearinghouse sponsored through the Environmental Protection Agency. This partnership will assist the City in determining the best technologies and education strategies to implement in reaching our goal of conserving water. Click here to learn more about EPA WaterSense.

With population booming, the demand for drinking water increases. Can we ever run out of water?

The amount of water on Earth never changes; we call this a closed system. We can never run out of water, but only a small amount of the water is fresh water and treating it may become more expensive in the future.

Many products need water to be produced. Following are some examples.
The production of one t-shirt requires 713 gallons of water.
To grow 1 pound of rice requires 449 gallons of water.
To produce a microchip (which is in any electronic device that you can think of) takes about 8 gallons of water.
To produce 1 cup of coffee (from growth of the bean to the brewed coffee in your cup) it takes about 37 gallons of water.
A 500 paper sheet notebook requires 1321 gallons of water.

Who should I contact if I have questions about my drinking water?

You may contact the laboratory manager at 954-545-7018 with any questions related to water quality.