If you moved to Southwest Florida you may have immediately noticed the difference in our water quality compared to the water quality from your previous northern home. The simple fact is that we are essentially living on a natural Florida wetland (Swamp for short). The Army Corps of Engineers came into Collier County in the early 1940’s with huge dredges to fill and raise our property level for development. The water quality has always been an issue in southwest Florida. Our deep water aquifers run underground and as you get closer to the ocean, the underground aquifers become brackish. Water treatment is the only choice for us Floridians that love the tropical climate. For property owners in Naples, the limitations of Collier County Utilities offer the bare minimum in what we call fresh drinking water. The government will treat the water to meet drinking water requirements. And that is bad. Rob Hill, Owner of Bob Hill Plumbing is on a mission to offer affordable, incredibly fresh filtered water to anyone that cares about their water quality. Naples Florida has a real problem with chlorine and metals in our water. The Florida wetlands historically have a high concentration of Mercury in the everglades. Those high mercury levels along with other problematic chemicals such as
chloramines, gases, dyes, fuels, heavy metals, man-made pollutants, disinfectants, pesticides,
TTHM, and sodium
hypochlorite are found in our water. Over 90 percent of Florida’s drinking water supply is dependent on aquifers, underground groundwater storage areas that collect water which seeps from the surface. That means we also depend heavily on rainfall in order to replenish the aquifer system. While much of Florida gets potable water from the deep Floridan aquifer, Southwest Florida relies on a superficial aquifer system for drinking water supplies. Independent sources have to monitor our water quality every day to maintain the safety of this valuable necessity we sometimes take for granted. It is scary to think that our drinking water is dependent on the amount of rain we get and the contaminants that rainwater picks up as it finds its way to our aquifer system.
