Table of Contents
Can You Drink Tap Water in Palm Beach Gardens?
Yes, Palm Beach Gardens's tap water is generally considered safe to drink as Palm Beach Gardens has no active health based violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that we are aware of. Other factors such as lead piping in a home, or low levels of pollutants on immunocompromised individuals, should also be considered, however. To find more recent info we might have, you can check out our boil water notice page or the city's water provider website.
According the EPA’s ECHO database, from April 30, 2019 to June 30, 2022, Palm Beach Gardens's water utility, Seacoast Utilities Authority, had 0 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. For more details on the violations, please see our violation history section below. The last violation for Palm Beach Gardens was resolved on July 31, 2018. This assessment is based on the Seacoast Utilities Authority water system, other water systems in the city may have different results.
While tap water that meets the EPA health guidelines generally won’t make you sick to your stomach, it can still contain regulated and unregulated contaminants present in trace amounts that could potentially cause health issues over the long-run. These trace contaminants may also impact immunocompromised and vulnerable individuals.
The EPA is reviewing if it’s current regulations around pollutant levels in tap water are strict enough, and the health dangers posed by unregulated pollutants, like PFAS.
Water Quality Report for Palm Beach Gardens Tap Water
The most recent publicly available numbers for measured contaminant levels in Palm Beach Gardens tap water are in its 2020 Water Quality Report. As you can see, there are levels which the EPA considers to be acceptable, but being below the maximum allowable level doesn’t necessarily mean the water is healthy.
Lead in tap water, for example, is currently allowed at up to 15ppb by the EPA, but it has set the ideal goal for lead at zero. This highlights how meeting EPA standards doesn’t necessarily mean local tap water is healthy.
EPA regulations continue to change as it evaluates the long term impacts of chemicals and updates drinking water acceptable levels. The rules around arsenic, as well as, lead and copper are currently being re-evaluated.
There are also a number of "emerging" contaminants that are not currently. For example, PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), for which the EPA has issued a health advisory. PFAS are called "forever chemicals" since they tend not to break down in the environment or the human body and can accumulate over time.
We recommend looking at the contaminants present in Palm Beach Gardens's water quality reports, or getting your home's tap water tested to see if you should be filtering your water.
Palm Beach Gardens Tap Water Safe Drinking Water Act Violation History - Prior 10 Years
Below is a ten year history of violations for the water system named Seacoast Utilities Authority for Palm Beach Gardens in Florida. For more details please see the "What do these Violations Mean?" section below.
From July 1, 2018 to July 31, 2018, Palm Beach Gardens had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Monitoring Violation, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring, Routine (RTCR) which falls into the Microbials rule code group, and the Total Coliform Rules rule code family for the following contaminant code: Revised Total Coliform Rule.
From Oct. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 2017, Palm Beach Gardens had 2 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violations with the violation category being Monitoring and Reporting, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) which falls into the Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule rule code group, and the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule rule code family for the following contaminant codes: TTHM, Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5).
For the compliance period beginning May 1, 2017, Palm Beach Gardens had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Monitoring and Reporting, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring, Source Water (GWR) which falls into the Microbials rule code group, and the Groundwater Rule rule code family for the following contaminant code: E. COLI.
For the compliance period beginning Jan. 1, 2015, Palm Beach Gardens had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Monitoring and Reporting, more specifically, the violation code was Follow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R which falls into the Chemicals rule code group, and the Lead and Copper Rule rule code family for the following contaminant code: Lead and Copper Rule.
Is there Lead in Palm Beach Gardens Water?
Based on the EPA’s ECHO Database, 90% of the samples taken from the Palm Beach Gardens water system, Seacoast Utilities Authority, between sample start date and sample end date, were at or below, 0.0017 mg/L of lead in Palm Beach Gardens water. This is 11.3% of the 0.015 mg/L action level. This means 10% of the samples taken from Palm Beach Gardens contained more lead.
While Palm Beach Gardens water testing may have found 0.0017 mg/L of lead in its water, that does not mean your water source has the same amount. The amount of lead in water in a city can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood, or even building to building. Many buildings, particularly older ones, have lead pipes or service lines which can be a source of contamination. To find out if your home has lead, we recommend getting you water tested.
No amount of lead in water is healthy, only less dangerous. As lead accumulates in our bodies over time, even exposure to relatively small amounts can have negative health effects. For more information, please check out our Lead FAQ page.
Are there PFAS in Palm Beach Gardens Tap Water?
Currently, testing tap water for PFAS isn’t mandated on a national level. We do have a list of military bases where there have been suspected or confirmed leaks. There appears to be no military bases near Palm Beach Gardens with suspected leaks.
With many potential sources of PFAS in tap water across the US, the best information we currently have about which cities have PFAS in their water is this ewg map, which you can check to see if Palm Beach Gardens has been evaluated for yet.
Our stance is better safe than sorry, and that it makes sense to try to purify the tap water just in case.
Palm Beach Gardens SDWA Violation History Table - Prior 10 Years
| Compliance Period | Status | Health-Based? | Category Code | Code | Rule Code | Contaminant Code | Rule Group Code | Rule Family Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/01/2018 - 07/31/2018 | Resolved | No | Monitoring Violation (MON) | Monitoring, Routine (RTCR) (3A) | Revised Total Coliform Rule (111) | Revised Total Coliform Rule (8000) | Microbials (100) | Total Coliform Rules (110) |
| 10/01/2017 - 12/31/2017 | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) (27) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) | TTHM (2950) | Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (200) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) |
| 10/01/2017 - 12/31/2017 | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) (27) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) | Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) (2456) | Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (200) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) |
| 05/01/2017 - | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Monitoring, Source Water (GWR) (34) | Ground Water Rule (140) | E. COLI (3014) | Microbials (100) | Groundwater Rule (140) |
| 01/01/2015 - | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Follow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R (52) | Lead and Copper Rule (350) | Lead and Copper Rule (5000) | Chemicals (300) | Lead and Copper Rule (350) |
What do these Violations Mean?
Safe Drinking Water Act Violations categories split into two groups, health based, and non-health based. Generally, health based violations are more serious, though non-health based violations can also be cause for concern.
Health Based Violations
- Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) - maximum allowed contaminant level was exceeded.
- Maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs) - maximum allowed disinfectant level was exceeded.
- Other violations (Other) - the exact required process to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water was not followed.
Non-Health Based Violations
- Monitoring and reporting violations (MR, MON) - failure to conduct the required regular monitoring of drinking water quality, and/or to submit monitoring results on time.
- Public notice violations (Other) - failure to immediately alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water that may pose a risk to public health.
- Other violations (Other) - miscellaneous violations, such as failure to issue annual consumer confidence reports or maintain required records.
SDWA Table Key
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Compliance Period | Dates of the compliance period. |
| Status |
Current status of the violation.
|
| Health-Based? | Whether the violation is health based. |
| Category Code |
The category of violation that is reported.
|
| Code | A full description of violation codes can be accessed in the SDWA_REF_CODE_VALUES (CSV) table. |
| Contaminant Code | A code value that represents a contaminant for which a public water system has incurred a violation of a primary drinking water regulation. |
| Rule Code |
Code for a National Drinking Water rule.
|
| Rule Group Code |
Code that uniquely identifies a rule group.
|
| Rule Family Code |
Code for rule family.
|
For more clarification please visit the EPA's data dictionary.
Palm Beach Gardens Water - Frequently Asked Questions
| By Phone: | 561-627-2900 |
| By Mail: | PO BOX 109602 PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL, 33410-9602 |
Existing customers can login to their Seacoast Utilities Authority account to pay their Palm Beach Gardens water bill by clicking here.
If you want to pay your Seacoast Utilities Authority bill online and haven't made an account yet, you can create an account online. Please click here to create your account to pay your Palm Beach Gardens water bill.
If you don't want to make an account, or can't remember your account, you can make a one-time payment towards your Palm Beach Gardens water bill without creating an account using a one time payment portal with your account number and credit or debit card. Click here to make a one time payment.
Moving to a new house or apartment in Palm Beach Gardens means you will often need to put the water in your name with Seacoast Utilities Authority. In order to put the water in your name, please click the link to the start service form below. Start service requests for water bills typically take two business days.
Leaving your house or apartment in Palm Beach Gardens means you will likely need to take your name off of the water bill with Seacoast Utilities Authority. In order to take your name off the water bill, please click the link to the stop service form below. Stop service for water bills requests typically take two business days.
USER SUBMITTED RATINGS
- Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility
- Water Pollution
- Drinking Water Quality and Accessibility
- Water Quality
The above data is comprised of subjective, user submitted opinions about the water quality and pollution in Palm Beach Gardens, measured on a scale from 0% (lowest) to 100% (highest).
Related FAQS
Palm Beach Gardens Water Quality Report (Consumer Confidence Report)
The EPA mandates that towns and cities consistently monitor and test their tap water. They must report their findings in an annual Consumer Confidence Report. Below is the most recent water quality report from Palm Beach Gardens's Water. If you would like to see the original version of the report, please click here.
2020
ANNUAL WATER QUALITY REPORT
Seacoast Utility Authority (“Seacoast”) is pleased to present you with the 2020 Annual Water Quality Report. The report is designed to inform you about the quality of your drinking water and the services we deliver to you every day.
HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS
We are pleased to report that Seacoast’s drinking water meets all federal, state and local standards as well as the rigorous water quality objectives established by Seacoast’s engineering and operations professionals.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) set both primary and secondary standards to ensure public water is safe to drink. Primary standards protect public health against substances that may be harmful to humans if consumed for long periods. Secondary standards control the aesthetic qualities of the water such as taste, odor, and clarity, but do not impact public health.
Our annual report meets the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirement for “Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR)” and contains information on the source and quality of our water. Our goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We make every effort to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. Seacoast has an ongoing commitment to provide our customers with the highest quality of drinking water.
Seacoast routinely monitors for contaminants in your drinking water according to federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. Except where otherwise indicated, this report is based on the results of our monitoring for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2020. Data obtained before January 1, 2020, and presented in this report are from the most recent testing done in accordance with the applicable laws, rules, and regulations governing water quality. Reported results are for contaminants detected in samples collected from Seacoast’s water treatment plant, the distribution system and private homes.
If you have any questions regarding this report, please contact Pamela
The Annual Water Quality Report is offered electronically to all of its customers. If you would like a printed copy of this report mailed to your address, please contact our Customer Service Department at
Seacoast is a publicly owned water and sewer utility serving approximately 53,801 Northern Palm Beach County homes and businesses with an approximate population of 95,128 residents. The August 1988 Interlocal Agreement establishing Seacoast vests governing authority in its five member board. Board
OUR WATER SUPPLY AND
CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAN
Seacoast’s aggressive capital improvements program underscores its commitment to the
highest customer service and water quality standards. Seacoast’s current five‐year, $93
million capital improvement program includes:
Members are appointed by the respective political jurisdictions within which Seacoast provides service. Each member’s voting share is as follows: Palm Beach Gardens 60%, Palm Beach County 20%, North Palm Beach, 12%, Lake Park 6%, and Juno Beach 2%. Seacoast currently distributes approximately 17 million gallons per day (MGD) of drinking water to its customers.
SEACOAST BOARD MEMBERS
Andrew Lukasik,
Chair: Village of North Palm Beach
Joseph Lo Bello,
- Expansion of electronic records and asset management systems
- Expansion of existing technology applications, including telemetry, global positioning systems for buried infrastructure, and communication systems
- Improvements and updating of wastewater treatment processes
- Sewer pump station replacements and improvements
- Various roadway corridor piping replacement projects
- Neighborhood piping replacement projects
- Finish administrative site redevelopment to provide enhanced customer access, greater energy efficiency, site security and resilience.
- Develop a Western Region Operations Center to service accounts and infrastructure west of Beeline Highway.
- Expand and renew water storage tanks at the Richard Road Facility.
- Replacement of Vehicles and Equipment
- Improvements and updating of water treatment processes.
Ron Ferris,
President
John D’Agostino,
Member: Town of Lake Park
Robert Weisman,
Member: Palm Beach County
PLEASE VISIT
https://www.sua.com/gov_ board for Seacoast’s 2021 Board Meeting Schedule. https://facebook.com/custsvc to like us on Facebook.
OUR WATER SOURCES
Seacoast’s goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. The Authority obtains its water from two separate ground water sources: (1) a shallow aquifer, 75 to 200 feet deep, known as the surficial aquifer and (2) from the 1,500 foot
deep brackish Floridan aquifer. Seacoast has thirty‐eight (38) surficial aquifer ground
water wells and six (6) Floridan aquifer wells located in four (5) separate wellfields.
A 2019 Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Source Water Assessment identified nine (9) potential sources of wellfield contamination, all representing low to
moderate risk. FDEP’s assessment area was based on a projected 5‐year ground water travel time around each well. The 5‐year ground water travel time is defined by the
area from which water will flow to a well pumping at an average daily permitted rate for a
OUR WATER SUPPLY AND
CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAN
Seacoast uses two membrane treatment processes to treat its water: reverse osmosis for brackish Floridan aquifer water desalination and nanofiltration for demineralization of its fresh surficial aquifer water supply. Both the reverse osmosis and nanofiltration processes operate by forcing pressurized raw water through a
Seacoast’s Hood Road Membrane Water Plant is a 30.5 MGD facility comprised of 26.0 MGD of nanofiltration (NF), 3.5 MGD of low pressure reverse osmosis, and 1.0 MGD of pretreated local surficial aquifer blend water.
Water fluoridation, the controlled addition of fluoride to drinking water for the purpose of reducing tooth decay, is not practiced by Seacoast. However, fluoride does occur naturally in our water at very low levels (<0.2 ppm).
A 2019 Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Source Water Assessment identified nine (9) potential sources of wellfield contamination, all representing low to moderate risk. FDEP’s assessment area was based on a projected 5‐year ground water travel time around each well. The 5‐year ground water travel time is defined by the area from which water will flow to a well pumping at an average daily permitted rate for a five- year period. The assessment results are available on the FDEP Source Water Assessment and Protection website at www.dep.state.fl.us/swapp.
LEAD IN PUBLIC DRINKING WATER
If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. Seacoast is responsible for providing high quality drinking water but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER
The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.
CONTAMINANTS THAT MAY BE PRESENT IN SOURCE WATER INCLUDE:
- Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.
- Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.
- Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.
-
Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are
by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems. - Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.
To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations, which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.
Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health
risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects
can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at
VULNERABILITY TO
CONTAMINANTS
Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population.
WATER QUALITY TESTING RESULTS
Seacoast has been monitoring for unregulated contaminants (UCs) as part of a study to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determine the occurrence of UCs in drinking water and whether or not these contaminants need to be regulated.
At present, no health standards (for example, maximum contaminant level) have been established for UCs. However, we are required to publish the analytical results for our UC monitoring in our annual water quality report. If you would like more information on the EPA’s Unregulated Contaminants Monitoring Rule, please call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800)
TABLE DEFINITIONS
N/A – Not Applicable.
DBP – Disinfection by Product. TTHM – Total Trihalomethane.
ppm – Parts per million, or milligrams per liter (mg/L).
pCi/L – Picocurie per liter, a measure of radioactivity in water. ppb – parts per billion, or micrograms per liter (µg/L).
ND – Not Detected and indicated that the substance was not found by laboratory analysis. MRDL – Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level – The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.
MRDLG – Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal – The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLG’s do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.
MCLG – Maximum Contaminant Level Goal – The level of contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLG’s allow for a margin of safety. MCL – Maximum Contaminant Level – The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCL’s are set as close to the MCLG’s as feasible using the best available treatment technology.
AL – Action Level – The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment techniques (TT) or other requirements that a water system must follow.
Contaminants
Seacoast Utilities Authority
EWG's drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by the water utility and provided to the Environmental Working Group by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as well as information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database (ECHO). For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2019 - March 2019), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Utility details
- Serves: 90612
- Data available: 2012-2017
- Data Source: Groundwater
- Total: 10
Contaminants That Exceed Guidelines
- Chromium (hexavalent)
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
Other Detected Contaminants
- 1%2C4-Dioxane
- Chlorodifluoromethane
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Molybdenum
- Nitrate
- Nitrite
- Strontium
- Vanadium
Reminder
Always take extra precautions, the water may be safe to drink when it leaves the sewage treatment plant but it may pick up pollutants during its way to your tap. We advise that you ask locals or hotel staff about the water quality. Also, note that different cities have different water mineral contents.