Apalachicola officials address water quality concerns

Yahoo

2 days ago

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Residents say their water is discolored and has a strong odor. They believe it is making them sick and giving them rashes.
They say there was a lack of communication from city officials. However, residents got some answers at Thursday's meeting.
Apalachicola has dealt with water quality issues for years. The issue worsened after Hurricane Helene hit in September 2024.
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The high winds knocked off the aerator from their water tower, which is what removes pollutants, gases, and odors from their water.
Residents say their water has been discolored and smelly ever since.
'Since we've had this water problem. He has rashes all the time. He has problems with his eyes, especially since the water now is brown at my house,' an Apalachicola resident said.
In March, city officials made an emergency expenditure to have the piece of equipment constructed for around $500,000. While they are waiting for that work to be completed, they may have found a temporary solution.
The city of Carrabelle has an extra aerator that might match what they need and could be installed by the end of July.
'When the water comes out of the well, it goes into the tank and it's within that tank where the mixer is in the bottom. And then you have the scrubber at the top that gets that air rights and gets rid of all of the gases that come out,' Apalachicola City Commissioner Donna Duncan said.
Apalachicola has three water wells that pump into the ground storage tank. One well is currently down for maintenance.
Water management teams dug to the bottom of the well this week to clean and flush it.
On Monday, they will test the water quality and put the well back online. They say another well has air issues, which leaves one well.
Management teams plan to install a fourth well system for $1,000,000, but they still need to find land that would include an additional cost.
'That million-dollar-plus investment will be felt throughout generations, and we will have that backup system if a whale goes down, if there's an issue our wells,' Apalachicola Mayor Brenda Ash said.
Florida Rural Water says Apalachicola is still receiving primary water, and it is still drinkable.
'While it smells and while it looks horrible, we're being told that it's still safe. And I understand the frustration and being told that because if it smells horrible and it looks horrible and people are having reactions if there's rashes based on the extra chlorine and different things like that,' Duncan said.
Many residents choose to buy bottled water.
'We're bathing in with bottled water, my four-year-old, the baby, like refuse, is we can't even use like our outside water, like toys or anything. It's not just physical health. It's emotionally it's like mental health crisis,' Apalachicola resident Krystal Hernandez said.
In the meantime, the city issued a boil water notice for residents.
'Our systems have been working overtime and building up and building up and they may not be working to the level that they should have been. My husband could lose his leg. He could lose his life,' an Apalachicola resident said.
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Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith reached out to Senator Corey Simon for water supplies.
The sheriff's office will be distributing 1,800 cases of water at Apalachicola High School at 9 a.m. on Friday.
City officials hope to receive funding from the Apalachicola Stewardship Act on July 1st. It would allow them to directly address water quality concerns. They are in the process of reaching out to Governor Ron DeSantis to request that he issue a state of emergency in Apalachicola.
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