Integrating Quality and Safety

We want you to feel confident about the safety of our facilities; that's why we believe it is important to communicate with those who live in our community and to inform our customers about the process behind our drinking water operations. In our drive for excellence, there's one essential goal that guides us...
Safety First--Boynton Beach water treatment facilities are designed and operated with proven safeguards to protect the health and well-being of customers, staff, and the environment, setting South Florida's industry standard for water treatment safety programs.

The City of Boynton Beach Utility Department is committed to delivering quality drinking water and responsive service to the customers we serve. We also strive to be good neighbors to the people who live near our treatment plants. When we expanded our water system in 1989 to ensure that future water supplies met the needs of our community, we were also mindful of the needs of our neighbors. As a result of these efforts, Boynton Beach became a world leader in the use of advanced technologies designed not only to provide quality drinking water but also to safeguard the health of our surrounding communities.

The City owns and operates two water treatment facilities located at 1620 South Seacrest Boulevard and 5469 West Boynton Boulevard. Raw Water is pumped from beneath the ground to these facilities, where it is made into safe drinking water using three treatment processes: lime softening, membrane softening, and chlorination. The lime softening treatment process uses lime to remove the calcium and magnesium found naturally in groundwater; this removes the water's "hardness." The membrane process uses a series of filter-like membranes to remove hardness, color, and other natural organic matter found in groundwater. The water is then disinfected with chlorine gas to remove contaminants and to produce healthy drinking water.

The high quality of Boynton Beach's drinking water is attributed in large part to chlorination - a process that has been protecting the U.S. water supply from waterborne infectious diseases for over 90 years. Although three-quarter of the Earth's surface is water, only 1 percent is readily available for human consumption...and that 1 percent may contain hundreds of microorganisms that can cause life-threatening waterborne diseases, such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery.

Since chlorine's introduction into the U.S. water supply, infant mortality rates have dropped dramatically, life expectancy has increased by 50 percent, and deaths from waterborne disease in the U.S. have been virtually eliminated. Importantly, chlorination is the only water disinfection method approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that purifies water all the way from the treatment plant to the tap. Today, over 98 percent of U.S. public water supplies that are disinfected are made clean and safe with chlorine or chlorine-based compounds. In fact, the State of Florida mandates the use of chlorine for the disinfection of drinking water.

Are There Risks Associated with the Use of Chlorine Gas?

As with all chemicals, there are risks associated with the use of chlorine if not properly handled. To protect the welfare of our community, staff, and the environment, the City has take many proactive steps over the last decade to minimize potential hazards. A new element of our safety program evolved from a regulations passed by the EPA known as the Risk Management Program. These regulations apply to all industries, including private and public water utilities, that store hazardous chemicals in quantities that are above EPA-specified levels. The substance regulated at our treatment facilities is chlorine gas. The objective of the Risk Management Program is to prevent the accidental release of dangerous substances in amounts that many adversely affect the surrounding community. We want our customers to know that we have satisfied and exceeded the requirement of this new law and have a number of preventative measures in place to guard against the release of chlorine gas.

You can take comfort in the fact that Boynton Beach has not experienced a chlorine gas leak in 20 years--further demonstrating the safety of our treatment facilities. However, if an accidental release was to occur, chlorine is heavier than air and will settle in low-lying areas. Exposure to low concentrations of gaseous chlorine over short periods of time does not present a public health risk in most cases. However, chlorine reacts with body moisture to form acids, so exposure to high concentrations can be very irritating to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes, and in some cases, induce acute respiratory distress. If a serious leaks were detected, the County Emergency Response Team (HAZMAT) would notify affected residents and instruct them on what actions to take, which may include staying indoors with the air conditioner off for a specific period of time, or in the case of a major release, evacuation.

Clean Water is Healthy Water

Put into perspective, advances in our modern society entail acceptable, yet preventable
risks. Just as water is essential to life, chlorine is essential to safe water. Untreated or inadequately treated drinking
water remains the greatest threat to public health worldwide. Boynton Beach's advanced water treatment
facilities are designed, constructed, operated, and managed to provide our customers with high quality drinking water
without compromising the well-being of our community and its natural resources.

The next time you turn on your tap, rest easy--the City of Boynton Beach has effectively integrated quality and safety
to protect and to enhance the welfare of those we serve.

How We Prevent Accidents

We have installed safety devices and developed a Prevention Program specifically designed to prevent the accidental release of chlorine gas and to immediately contain a leak if detected. Preventive measures implemented at the Boynton Beach facilities include:

Chlorine gas sensors designed to detect leaks and trigger special safety systems if a leak is discovered.	Comprehensive planning and coordination with the County's HAZMAT teams in the unlikely event that a leak occurs.
Emergency chlorine gas scrubbers at both treatment facilities that will automatically sense and neutralize any chlorine gas leak from the treatment system. The scrubbers are tested weekly to ensure proper operation and effectiveness.	Extensive training of all plant operators involved in the water treatment process on the use, hazards, handling, and safe operation of chlorine gas. Staff also have special emergency action training on how to respond to a chlorine gas leak.
Specially engineered building constructed to house the chlorine gas system and to contain a chlorine gas leak, minimizing potential impacts on surrounding areas.	Automatic valves and vacuum technologies that will stop the flow of chlorine gas if there is a break in the piping system.

If you have questions about our safety program, please call Bob Kenyon, Deputy Utility Director, at 561/742-6402.

Come to see for yourself. We would be happy to take you on a tour of our water treatment facilities and show you first hand how we protect the safety of our workers and our community.

Boynton Beach Utility Department l 5469 W. Boynton Beach Boulevard l Boynton Beach, FL 33437