Fort Lauderdale’s Water: A City Built on Limestone
Fort Lauderdale — and all of Broward County — draws its drinking water from the Biscayne Aquifer, a shallow limestone formation that sits just below the surface across South Florida. The aquifer is incredibly productive but also incredibly vulnerable. The same porous limestone that makes it easy to pump water from also makes it easy for contaminants to reach.
The city serves about 180,000 residents through its water system, with the Fiveash and Peele-Dixie water treatment plants processing groundwater from wellfields west of the city. The treated water meets federal standards. But the threats to the source aquifer are growing faster than most residents realize.
Saltwater Intrusion: The Slow-Motion Crisis
Sea level rise is pushing saltwater into the Biscayne Aquifer along the coast. This isn’t a future projection — it’s happening now. The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) monitors a network of sentinel wells along the saltwater intrusion front, and the line has been moving inland for decades.
In Broward County, the saltwater front has advanced significantly since monitoring began in the 1940s. Several coastal wellfields across South Florida have already been abandoned or moved inland due to chloride contamination.
Fort Lauderdale’s wellfields sit inland enough to have avoided direct saltwater contamination so far. But the margin is thinning. Every inch of sea level rise, every period of drought that reduces aquifer levels, and every over-pumping event pushes that front a little closer.
The city has invested in alternative water supply strategies, including expanding its reclaimed water program and exploring deeper aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wells. But there’s no simple fix for a coastline that’s gradually drowning your drinking water supply.
The Septic Tank Problem
Broward County has an estimated 120,000 septic systems — many of them decades old and barely functional. In a place where the water table often sits within a few feet of the surface, septic systems don’t work the way they’re supposed to. Effluent doesn’t get adequately treated by the soil before it reaches groundwater.
The result: elevated levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), bacteria, and pharmaceutical compounds in shallow groundwater across developed areas. Studies by Florida International University and the U.S. Geological Survey have documented nutrient-enriched groundwater discharging into canals, Intracoastal waterways, and nearshore ocean environments throughout Broward County.
Florida’s 2020 Clean Waterways Act mandated that septic systems in certain vulnerable areas be connected to central sewer or upgraded to advanced treatment by specific deadlines. Broward County has been working on a massive septic-to-sewer conversion program, but the cost — potentially billions of dollars — and logistical complexity make it a multi-decade effort.
Infrastructure Age and Failures
Fort Lauderdale’s water and sewer infrastructure has been making national news, and not in a good way. The city experienced a series of significant sewage main breaks starting in late 2019 and continuing into the early 2020s, with millions of gallons of raw sewage spilling into waterways.
While the sewage breaks primarily affected surface water quality rather than drinking water, they highlighted the age and fragility of the city’s underground infrastructure. Water mains face similar age-related issues — some pipes in older neighborhoods date back to the 1940s and 1950s.
The city launched a major infrastructure investment program, issuing hundreds of millions in bonds for water and sewer improvements. But replacing underground pipes in a fully built-out urban environment is slow, expensive, and disruptive.
PFAS and Emerging Contaminants
Like communities across Florida, Fort Lauderdale faces questions about PFAS contamination. Potential sources in the area include:
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport — AFFF use during firefighting training
- Military installations — Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale operated from 1942 to 1946
- Industrial sources — various manufacturing and commercial operations in the metro area
Florida has been conducting statewide PFAS sampling of public water systems. Results for Broward County systems have generally shown PFAS levels below federal advisory levels, but the final EPA PFAS MCLs established in 2024 set much lower thresholds that may require additional monitoring and potentially treatment.
What Fort Lauderdale Residents Can Do
Check the city’s annual Consumer Confidence Report for the latest testing data on your drinking water. Fort Lauderdale’s treatment plants provide effective treatment for most regulated contaminants.
If you have a private well in Broward County — be especially vigilant. The shallow aquifer is vulnerable to contamination from surface activities, septic systems, and saltwater intrusion. Regular testing for bacteria, nitrates, and chlorides is important.
If you’re concerned about PFAS, pharmaceutical trace compounds, or other emerging contaminants that conventional treatment may not fully address, a certified water treatment professional can test your water and recommend appropriate filtration. Activated carbon and reverse osmosis systems are effective against most of these compounds.
Sources: South Florida Water Management District saltwater intrusion monitoring data; Broward County Environmental Protection and Growth Management Division; Florida Department of Environmental Protection; USGS South Florida Water Quality Studies; City of Fort Lauderdale Utilities Department.