STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

IN RE: CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, ) FLORIDA )

Application No. 24859, )

South Florida Water ) CASE NO. 77-2245 Management District )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

A hearing was held in the above captioned matter, after due notice, at Boynton Beach, Florida, on February 9, 1978, before the undersigned Hearing Officer.

APPEARANCES

For the Applicant: Gene Moore, City Attorney

Post Office Box 310

Boynton Beach, Florida 33425

For the South Florida Steve Walker, Esquire Water Management 3301 Gun Club Road District: Post Office Box 3858

West Palm Beach, Florida 33402 ISSUE

Whether a water use permit for the quantities of water requested in application 24859 should be granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The City of Boynton Beach, Florida, filed application number 24859 with the South Florida Water Management District (formerly the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District) for an annual allocation of 3.89 billion gallons (10.7 mgd) for a public water supply system for its service area of 18,351 acres for a period of ten years. The application was dated February 26, 1976. A supplemental engineering report was submitted on April 26, 1977, and a water withdrawal management plan on August 18, 1977. The delay in completing the documentation for the application was due to the applicant's completion of a test well program and hydrogeological evaluation of the aquifer capability of the 34 acre tract known as the "Jarvis Property," the proposed site of eight future wells. (Composite Exhibit 1)

   
   

2. The existing raw water supply system for Boynton Beach consists of four separate well fields, comprising a total of 14 wells with a total rated capacity of 9700 gpm. Wells 1 through 5 were built during the period 1946-1958. Wells 6 through 11 were built from 1961-1973, and wells 12 through 14 were completed in 1976. The application seeks approval for eight additional wells, numbers 16 through 22 to be located on the "Jarvis Tract." It is proposed that wells numbers 15 and 16 be built immediately upon approval of the application and that the remaining six new wells be constructed at a rate of two per year through

   1982, subject to demand. The city presently operates a water treatment plant with a treatment capacity of 8 mgd and is expanding that facility to a capacity of 16 mgd. It is anticipated that this expansion and the new well field will meet projected water demands in the service area through 1987. (Testimony of Swan, Composite Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2)

   
   

3. The Applicant's present wells tap the shallow aquifer overlying the Hawthorne formation. These wells range in depths from 54 to 115 feet below ground surface. The planned wells will reach 180 to 230 foot depths. The shallow aquifer is largely recharged by local precipitation and a surface canal system. There are two major canals located near the Applicant's well fields in distances ranging from directly adjacent to approximately one mile. Canal E-4 is located on the western boundary of the proposed Jarvis well field which would provide direct recharge in the area. Withdrawal of water from wells number 1-5 had to be curtailed due to a landward movement of the freshwater/saltwater interface. The wells at present are used for emergency standby purposes only. After wells number 12-14 were put into operation, it was discovered that the withdrawals affected residential shallow irrigation wells nearby. Three of the residents have filed objections to the application for this reason. This problem will be resolved by the development of the Jarvis well field which will allow curtailment of pumpage from wells numbers 12-14. Well number 14 presently is not in operation due to an unknown polluted condition. The curtailment of use of wells 1-5 will aid in controlling any salt water intrusion. A U.S. Geological Survey saltwater monitoring well in the area indicates that there has not been any net landward movement of the saltwater/freshwater interface in the shallow aquifer since 1973. The Applicant's water withdrawal management plan which will substantially reduce the pumpage from wells 6-14 will also reduce the threat of saltwater intrusion by maintaining the aquifer water levels in the area at a higher elevation. (Exhibits 2-4, 6, Testimony of Gresh, Higgins, Kiebler)

   
   

4. The City of Boynton Beach currently has a population of 51,000 and it is projected that by 1987 the population will reach 71,000 which is the maximum limit of its water treatment facilities. The city plans to build a new treatment plant and well field in the western portion of the area when the capacity of the current and proposed well fields are reached. It would be uneconomic to place the currently proposed well field in that area due to the requirement of building a raw water line for a distance of approximately four miles. (Composite Exhibit 1, Testimony of Cessna)

   
   

5. The South Florida Water Management District staff recommends that the application be approved in its entirety for a period of ten years, subject to 18 special conditions which are acceptable to the Applicant. The district staff concluded that sufficient water is available in the Applicant's area to support the 1987 level of withdrawals and that the proposed consumption rate reflects a reasonable use of water. The staff further found that there would be a minimal impact on existing users in the area and that westward lateral intrusion of saltwater from the coastline will be reduced. (Exhibit 2-3, Testimony of Higgins)

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

6. Section 373.223, Florida Statutes, sets forth the conditions for a permit for the consumptive use of water. The three conditions that must be established by an applicant are that the proposed use of water:

   1. is a reasonable beneficial use as defined in Section 373.019(5); and

   2. will not interfere with any presently existing legal use of water; and

   3. is consistent with the public interest.

      
      

7. "Reasonable beneficial use" is defined in Section 373.019(5) as "the use of water in such quantity as is necessary for economic and efficient utilization for a purpose and in a manner that is both reasonable and consistent with the public interest." The evidence establishes that the requested amount of water for a public water supply will meet the requirements of that condition.

   
   

8. Although the evidence showed that former use of Applicant's well field had interfered with several irrigation wells of private owners in the nearby area, the proposed new well field and the water management plan devised by the Applicant will alleviate the prior problem and should not create any further interference with existing users.

   
   

9. The need for a city water supply to serve the present and anticipated population establishes that the proposed use of water by the Applicant will be consistent with the public interest.

   
   

10. The conditions to the permit as proposed by the South Florida Water Management District staff are reasonable and designed to ensure that the Applicant acts within the requirements of pertinent law and regulation in such respects as proper well construction, limits on periodic withdrawals, and monitoring programs as to water table, elevations and saltwater intrusion. It its considered that such conditions are necessary for the conservation, protection, management, and control of the waters in question.

RECOMMENDATION

That the application be approved and that a water use permit be issued to the Applicant pursuant to application number 24859 for a ten year allocation of

3.8 billion gallons, subject to the special conditions recommended by the South Florida Water Management District staff.

DONE and ENTERED this 21st day of February, 1978, in Tallahassee, Florida.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Gene Moore, Esquire City Attorney

City of Boynton Beach Post Office Box 310

Boynton Beach, Florida 33425

THOMAS C. OLDHAM

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings Room 530, Carlton Building Tallahassee, Florida 32304

(904) 488-9675

Steve Walker, Esquire 3301 Gun Club Road Post Office Box 3858

West Palm Beach, Florida 33402

Docket for Case No: 77-002245

Orders for Case No: 77-002245