Orlando Fl Bad water supply

[larry_cad]

Currently located at Thousand Trails, and recently moved from Encore Lake Magic. Couple of weeks ago myself and DW noticed we were developing skin rash everywhere. It finally occurred to me it might be the water so I installed a whole house filter and the rash has disappeared. We also noticed our gums were always sore so we started using bottled water to brush teeth and that cleared up. Friends who rented a house near us for the winter, report similar issues and actually went to the ER and ended up with a skin clean prescription.

Wondering if anyone else has experienced these symptoms south and west of Orlando?

[WTP-GC]

larry cad wrote:

Allworth wrote:
Neither of the campgrounds mentioned are in the City of Orlando.

Neither of the campgrounds mentioned are in Orange County.

Neither of the campgrounds mentioned are within any Urban Service Area.

Why are you tarring Orlando with somebody else's brush?

Probably because the campground calls itself "ORLANDO Thousand Trails". Beyond that, I am ignorant of where, exactly, the water comes from. Does the town of Clermont have it's own water treatment plant? Does the area known as Four Corners have it's own water treatment plant? I really don't know the answer. My question was really to discover if anyone else was experiencing this problem and I have spoken with several people at this campground and within this municipal area who agree. Beyond that, I really don't care.

For the gentleman who suggested it might be my hose, I doubt that because as recently as January I was using the same hose in Texas with no problem. Only since I move to an area "NEAR" to Orlando have I experienced this. Also, friends who are renting a house, without a hose, are experiencing similar symptoms.

I'm not sure what the present interpretation is of an "Urban Service Area", but Thousand Trails is located smack-dab in the middle of a very populated area and right next to a Publix Supermarket (as well as other shopping areas), so I can pretty easily say that it is on a public water supply system (serviced by a treatment plant, probably City of Clermont).

A quick Google Maps review would show that they do appear to have their own private onsite wastewater treatment system (though it may be decommissioned), but there does not appear to be any onsite water production, storage, or treatment system.

So if there were a contaminant, it looks like about 20,000 other people would also be experiencing the same problem.

[WTP-GC]

Big Katuna wrote:
Florida will never run out of water.

Florida will run out of good, cheap water.

This is exactly right!

[larry_cad]

Allworth wrote:
Neither of the campgrounds mentioned are in the City of Orlando.

Neither of the campgrounds mentioned are in Orange County.

Neither of the campgrounds mentioned are within any Urban Service Area.

Why are you tarring Orlando with somebody else's brush?

Probably because the campground calls itself "ORLANDO Thousand Trails". Beyond that, I am ignorant of where, exactly, the water comes from. Does the town of Clermont have it's own water treatment plant? Does the area known as Four Corners have it's own water treatment plant? I really don't know the answer. My question was really to discover if anyone else was experiencing this problem and I have spoken with several people at this campground and within this municipal area who agree. Beyond that, I really don't care.

For the gentleman who suggested it might be my hose, I doubt that because as recently as January I was using the same hose in Texas with no problem. Only since I move to an area "NEAR" to Orlando have I experienced this. Also, friends who are renting a house, without a hose, are experiencing similar symptoms.

[Big_Katuna]

Florida will never run out of water.

Florida will run out of good, cheap water.

[doxiemom11]

We always keep a whole house filter on our water lines be it city or well water in any state. There are areas in some state that even with that you cannot use the water.

[Retired_JSO]

Lwiddis wrote:
Too many people. Too much waste. Florida is in water trouble.

You need to read up on your facts. Don’t throw a blanket over Florida. South Florida has water problems due to salt water intrusion into the southern auquifer. Florida Springs still flow billions of gallons a day of fresh non sulfur water ending up in the Gulf or Atlantic.

A long dead Florida Governor started a company to build a massive pipeline from north to south Florida for water supply which never got support.

Florida is a long way from water trouble.

[wanderingbob]

Allworth is right on , can not put the blame on Orlando or Florida . The part of Florida that I live in has the best water , lots of springs .
They ain't making any more water on this planet , all they can do is treat whats bad and and pipe it where its needed !

[Eric_Lisa]

larry cad wrote:
Currently located at Thousand Trails, and recently moved from Encore Lake Magic. Couple of weeks ago myself and DW noticed we were developing skin rash everywhere. It finally occurred to me it might be the water so I installed a whole house filter and the rash has disappeared. ...

Just out of curiosity... Have you changed your hook-up hose? It seems odd to me that you & DW would be so broadly affected without other campground tenants experiencing similar issues. Internal RV plumbing would seem to not be the problem as the whole house filter resolved the symptoms. I am not sure where the filter is in-line. If it goes spigot -> hose -> filter -> RV, then it is possible the hose could be part of the problem.

I doubt you will want to provide a definitive conclusion to these questions....as proper testing methodology would involve removing the filter and seeing if the symptoms come back. Not something I would be interesting in testing myself! LOL!

Although doing a water test before & after the filter may be interesting. Self-test kits are $35 or so on Amazon, and I imagine there is probably a local company that provides the service.

-Eric

[ependydad]

larry cad wrote:
Currently located at Thousand Trails, and recently moved from Encore Lake Magic. Couple of weeks ago myself and DW noticed we were developing skin rash everywhere. It finally occurred to me it might be the water so I installed a whole house filter and the rash has disappeared. We also noticed our gums were always sore so we started using bottled water to brush teeth and that cleared up. Friends who rented a house near us for the winter, report similar issues and actually went to the ER and ended up with a skin clean prescription.

Wondering if anyone else has experienced these symptoms south and west of Orlando?

My family and I have stayed extensively at both parks you mentioned (as well as Sherwood Forest and Tropical Palms). While we find the water disgusting to drink, we've never experienced rashes. And the kids have very sensitive skin.

We use a Berkey Water Filter for all drinking water (and for making ice).

We stayed at these parks before we had it, but we've since added a Berkey Showerhead Filter. I'm expecting it to make the water here more tolerable.

[Allworth]

Neither of the campgrounds mentioned are in the City of Orlando.

Neither of the campgrounds mentioned are in Orange County.

Neither of the campgrounds mentioned are within any Urban Service Area.

Why are you tarring Orlando with somebody else's brush?

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Larry CAD, I see you're from Ohio. I think you're reacting to the higher levels of chlorine it takes to keep the much-warmer groundwater here in FL, sanitary. When we come down from Michigan, to me, FL tap water tastes like lapping water straight from the swimming pool....LOL! Finally installed a carbon-block water filter and it helped immensely with drinking water (we don't seem to have a problem with skin reactions)

But I'd much rather deal with too much chlorine, than all the cooties that *could* lurk in the plumbing lines without proper treatment.

[RayJayco]

Keep in mind that people can develop a tolerance to things...

An example, people in other countries, such as Mexico, can drink their water with no problem. You should stick to bottled (or bagged)water if you don't want to spend a lot of time in the bathroom on your vacation...

[RayJayco]

Allergies can be a problem, also the transport vessels (pipes)can be a problem. It doesn't matter how good the water is leaving the treatment plant as it can be fouled rapidly in the pipes...

I paid about $2000 to have the water tested at my house. This meant testing the water at each spigot (faucet), inside the house as well as the outside... That is the only way to truly know what water quality that you are receiving.

Broken pipes even far away from your house can introduce bad stuff also...

With old pipes, whether inside your house or under the streets to get to your house, you should always allow the water to run a couple of seconds first as heavy metals tend to congregate at the spigots (or faucets).

While all of FL has the same aquifer, water is not always used from the aquifer. Sometimes it comes from rivers and such.

Well water (aquifer) can vary in quality depending on area, due to waste (animals, dumps, old factories), minerals (sulfur, etc.), fertilizers, pesticides (old orange grove areas especially...).

I am glad that you have resolved your health issues by finding the culprit!

[Sam_Spade]

WTP-GC wrote:

If it affects the community, it’s a problem with the supply. If it affects the 1 or 2 people, it’s a problem with those people.

Like most generalities, that may or may not be true.

There might be a LOT of people having a similar problem but they just don't "link" it to the water.