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What Do I Need To Do To Ensure My Drinking Water is Safe?
Aside from the recent test results collected and analyzed by HSA, we reviewed historical test
results, also summarized in the enclosed table. The City produces a safe drinking water of
high quality based on the test results over the last several years. According to the USEPA and
the FDEP established standards, the City’s drinking water supply is of good quality and can be
consumed directly without concern. For those who want an added measure of protection,
substituting bottled drinking water is an option or under the kitchen counter reverse osmosis
(RO) filtration system can be installed as added intermediary treatment to provide an excellent
source of high quality of drinking water. These RO units are not cost prohibitive, can be easily
installed, and can usually supply sufficient drinking water for a typical household. A separate
tap is usually installed near the standard sink faucet so the RO water is delivered on demand.
There are several local reputable vendors that can provide free quotation for installing under
the kitchen counter RO units. Please note that the typical RO unit we are referring to does not
treat the entire household water supply but rather just the water intended for drinking or
cooking purposes.

To add a layer of confidence to residents’ concerns about the quality of the City’s drinking
water, we also recommend that the Town establish a primary point of contact for the City for
courtesy notification and/or discussion of real time details related to issues with the City’s
treatment and distribution processes. This could potentially avoid dramatized response to
typically less-detailed public notification.

INTRODUCTION
Residents of Palm Beach receive potable water from the City of West Palm Beach (City)
through a franchise agreement Town of Palm Beach (Town). As required under rule 62-550,
Florida Administrative Code, to protect the public health and ensure the quality of the delivered
potable water product, these taps are routinely sampled by the City of West Palm Beach’s
Public Utilities Department for specified monitoring parameters. Concerned about assuring the
quality of the potable water product delivered to Town residents by the City, the Town
authorized HSA Engineers & Scientists (HSA) to conduct a one-time sampling event from two
of the sampling taps on the potable water distribution system (piping) serving the Town.
Collected samples were targeted for laboratory analyses for regulated water chemistry
parameters, constituents, and microbiologics most likely to be present in South Florida drinking
water supplies.

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