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Scott Flushes Toilet to Tap Bill

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TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill that would have encouraged Florida utilities to dump treated sewage into the state’s aquifer. Known as "toilet to tap,“ HB 1149, which passed in this year’s legislative session, received strong backlash from citizens and environmental groups.

Effluent, liquid waste or sewage discharged into a water body, is sometimes referred to as "reclaimed water." It is commonly used to water lawns, as an alternative to wasting valuable drinking water on our grass coverings. Injecting the treated wastewater into our aquifers would allow the state to continue approving new water-use permits for developers, even as new residents continue to pour into the state at record number.

The process would have required cleaning it to the point where it would meet federal drinking water standards. Those standards, however, don’t require screening out antidepressants, antibiotics and other drugs commonly found in the sewer system after being passed on via human excrement. They also do not require screening out the nitrate pollution found in sewage, which can contribute to toxic algae blooms.

In vetoing the bill, Scott said it wasn’t "worth risking Floridians’ confidence in our existing water quality regulatory system."

Linda Young, Director of the Clean Water Network of Florida, a group that led the opposition to the bill, was thrilled that Scott vetoed the bill.

"Drinking partially treated sewage effluent only happens in desperate situations, such as 3rd world countries, or in extreme droughts," said Young. "Florida is not there and is not even close. Before we panic, we should get serious about wasting less potable water and preserving open space, which will help restore aquifers. There’s also the very important component of planning and taking into consideration whether or not Florida has the carrying capacity for millions of more people. This is not just a matter of having enough potable water and a good place to dispose of our sewage, it’s a matter of quality of life and whether we want people stacked up like cord-wood and having to deal with the crowded roads and crime that over-population brings. As Floridians we need to demand a say in what our future looks like."

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