Sodium
Overview
Sodium occurs naturally in Florida groundwater, and more so near the coast. It is not a health concern for most people, but matters for anyone on a sodium-restricted diet.
In Florida, Sodium was found in 1,074 community water systems serving about 6,669,849 people. 6 of those readings were above the federal legal limit, together serving 48,969 people.
The highest reading relative to the limit was at Holley-Navarre Water System in Santa Rosa County, at 148% of it.
Where it comes from: Erosion of natural deposits; saltwater influence near the coast; water softeners.
The standards
Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.
Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.
Nobody has published a health goal for this substance, official or otherwise.
Health effects the EPA associates with it: Not federally regulated for health. People on a very low-sodium diet (for blood pressure or heart conditions) may want to account for sodium in their water. At high levels it can give water a salty taste.
The health goal is set on health alone. The legal limit is set as close to it as is technically and economically feasible, so treatment cost and available technology are written into the number a utility is measured against. A system at or under the limit is meeting the standard it is required to meet. Both numbers are shown so the distance between them is visible.
What removes it
Reverse osmosis is the only household method that removes sodium. A water softener adds it, exchanging calcium and magnesium for sodium, so softening hard water raises this number rather than lowering it. Where that matters, a potassium chloride softener or a reverse osmosis tap for drinking water is the usual answer.
Treatment guidance describes the methods generally used for this contaminant. What your own tap actually carries depends on your plumbing and your service line as much as on the utility, which is what a test at the house tells you and an annual report cannot.
Where in Florida
Highest reported levels
Showing the 25 highest of 1,074 systems that reported Sodium.
Data Sources
These figures describe water as delivered by each utility, not what your home’s plumbing adds after it arrives. Informational; not a substitute for testing your own tap.