Palm Coast city leaders are considering writing a ban into local code that would block treated wastewater from ever flowing into residents' drinking taps, even though the city has no current plans to use the technology known as direct potable reuse. The proposal puts Palm Coast in the middle of a fast-spreading Florida fight over whether purified sewage water, often derided as “toilet-to-tap,” should have any place in the state's future water supply.
Direct potable reuse refers to highly treated wastewater that is purified and returned directly to a community's drinking water system, according to WKMG ClickOrlando. Palm Coast currently sends about 99% of its treated water toward reclaimed uses such as irrigating lawns, the station reports, rather than pushing it back into the tap. Still, the Palm Coast City Council is expected to take up a proposed ordinance banning the practice outright during an upcoming meeting, and the measure would need two official readings before becoming part of city code.
The station's report discusses whether direct potable reuse should be prohibited.
Daytona Beach Takes It to the Ballot, Volusia County Says No
Unlike Palm Coast's council ordinance, Daytona Beach commissioners voted unanimously to place their prohibition before voters as a charter amendment on the November 2026 ballot, according to Central Florida Public Media.
Volusia County residents had circulated a petition seeking a countywide ban, but the Volusia County Council rejected the proposed ballot measure in a 4-3 vote in February. The countywide proposal therefore did not advance.
Why State Regulators Are Pushing Reuse in the First Place
The article also cites Senate Bill 64.
The discussion also touches on water demand. Locally, water demand is part of the debate.
A Cautionary Tale From Tampa, and a Success Story in Altamonte Springs
Florida has already seen how quickly a reuse project can collapse under public pressure. In September 2022, the Tampa City Council voted unanimously to halt further research funding for its proposed PURE project, which had aimed to repurpose up to 50 million gallons per day of wastewater, after facing heavy opposition from environmental groups and residents worried about trace contaminants and aquifer injection safety, according to WUSF. Polk County has ongoing direct-potable-reuse demonstration testing, while Tampa Bay Water is evaluating potential projects.
Central Florida has also produced a technical success story. Between 2017 and 2018, the City of Altamonte Springs ran Florida's first direct potable reuse demonstration project, pureALTA, which purified 28,000 gallons per day of reclaimed water to meet or exceed drinking standards without using reverse osmosis membranes. The project earned international awards from the International Water Association and the WateReuse Association, though its purified water is currently directed back to irrigation rather than into drinking taps, according to the City of Altamonte Springs.
Industry Warns Against Locking in Local Bans
Central Florida Public Media reported on direct potable reuse. The same outlet's reporting discusses reclaimed-water treatment and irrigation.
The article also discusses potable reuse at the municipal level. For Palm Coast, the question now moves to the council chamber, where members will decide whether to write a permanent no into city code for a technology the city insists it has no plans to use.
