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1 <br />1 <br />' 3.0 EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS AND WATER QUALITY <br />' <br />3.1 GENERAL <br />' <br />Indian River County is not only dependent on its groundwater sources to <br />' <br />meet its municipal water needs, but is also dependent on its water <br />' <br />resources to irrigate its most important agricultural product - citrus. <br />Indian River County <br />' <br />presently receives its water supply from wells that <br />have been installed into either of two aquifers - the shallow, surficial <br />aquifer and the confined Floridan Aquifer. The surficial aquifer has been <br />' <br />impacted by contamination from several different sources and the aquifer is <br />' <br />a smaller volume producer than the Floridan Aquifer. The Floridan Aquifer <br />' <br />contains chloride concentrations in excess of 250 milligrams per liter <br />(mg/1). To prevent future potential health hazards caused by contamination <br />' <br />of the shallow groundwater source of drinking water in East Central <br />' <br />Florida, the Federal government will no longer fund any project which might <br />contaminate <br />the aquifer, as determined by the Administrator of the EPA. <br />' 3.2 GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION <br />' <br />The degradation of groundwater quality is generally a very slow but <br />constant process; but equally as slow, or slower is the renovation of <br />' <br />groundwater quality once an aquifer is polluted. In the East Central <br />Florida area, the greatest threats of contamination to the groundwater are <br />' <br />from saltwater encroachment, mismanaged irrigation and inappropriate waste <br />disposal <br />practices. Saltwater encroachment occurs along the coast when the <br />water levels in the aquifer are lowered either artificially, through <br />' <br />overpumping, and/or naturally, through droughts. Mismanaged irrigation <br />practices, where poor quality groundwater is discharged into a potable <br />' <br />surficial aquifer, is a direct degradation to a valuable resource. <br />Inadequate waste disposal practices such as onsite systems (septic tanks) <br />that cannot properly meet the needs of an area are a major source of <br />' <br />groundwater pollution. To control or alleviate these concerns, it is <br />important to understand their causes and effects. <br />' IRC.VB4 <br />6/4/87 <br />