Marion County seeks federal funds to provide Lowell area with central water

More than two years after several drinking water sources in Lowell, near the Florida State Fire College, tested for fire retardant compound levels above health advisory levels, the area is one step closer to accessing central water.

The County Commission unanimously voted on Tuesday to submit the Lowell Area Central Water System project, estimated to cost over $3.4 million, for federal funding through the Community Project Funding program.

The water line would run along Northwest Gainesville Road from State Road 326 to County Road 329. If approved, the project would require a 20% local match in funds. Even though it is not a COVID-19-related project, the county is confident the money will be available through the American Rescue Plan Act, which was signed into federal law in March to provide $1.9 trillion in economic relief.

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“We are able to take advantage of funding assistance through the American Rescue Plan as the U.S. Treasury’s guidelines allow counties to make necessary investments in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure with the funds,” Marion County government Public Information Officer Alex AuBuchon wrote in an email to the Star-Banner.

Testing found groundwater contamination

Awareness of the issue began when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection initiated testing of the fire college well in August and September of 2018. There was evidence to suggest compounds in firefighting foam — perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — had caused groundwater contamination elsewhere.

After the tests revealed levels above the Environmental Protection Agency’s health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion, the Florida Department of Health began testing water sources within a one-mile radius of the site. As of September 2019, 15 of the 170 wells sampled had levels of the compounds, also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), above the limit.

As PFAS have ties to certain cancers and diseases, many Lowell residents who had been drinking well water for years were concerned about risks to their health. The state paid for several filtration systems to remove the compounds from water for the wells with elevated levels.

Of the 15 wells with PFAS levels above 70 parts per trillion, concentrations ranged from 31,000 parts per trillion (0.031 micrograms per liter) to 12,000,000 parts per trillion (12 micrograms per liter) at one of the wells closest to the fire college, according to a DOH map submitted to the County Commission.

Water system would bring clean water, serve community

If approved for federal funding, the project would include a 12-inch water line extension stretching 4.52 miles with valves, fire hydrants and a water booster station to push water through mains. The cost of designing, surveying, permitting and constructing the project is estimated at $3,446,105.

In addition to providing clean drinking water to citizens within the area, as stated in the agenda item from Tuesday's County Commission meeting, the central water system would serve the fire college, a fire station that will be built on the site, and eventually local schools on CR 329, County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes told commissioners.

The commissioners were quick to approve the request, voting 5-0 in favor of submitting it to congressional leaders, who may choose to request federal Community Project Funding money, formerly known as “earmarks,” for projects in their home state or district.

“Now that the agenda item has been unanimously approved by our Board of Commissioners, a request has been submitted by letter to our federal lobbyist to submit this project to our U.S. Congressional leadership for their consideration,” AuBuchon wrote.

The county does not have a timeline on the plan other than that the request for funding will occur in the 2022 federal budget.