Water in the Pensacola, Florida area

The Pensacola, Florida, area, comprising Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, has abundant water of good quality. Most of the freshwater used, about 101 million gallons per day, comes from the surficial sand-and-gravel aquifer. The deeper Floridan aquifer locally contains saltwater, and is used in places for industrial waste disposal. Surface water is used for cooling and waste disposal, but is available for additional development. Water problems around Pensacola are localized, but they include saltwater encroachment, contamination of ground water by industrial wastes, high iron concentration, corrosiveness, and nitrate in ground water, and flooding. These problems point up the need for continued monitoring of the water resource. (Kosco-USGS)