VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia residents are rallying against an initiative known as “toilet to tap,” a water recycling method being promoted statewide to address drinking water shortages caused by new development and population growth. Many Volusia residents want the county to ban the practice before it becomes a possibility locally.
A petition circulating in Volusia calls for a ban on toilet-to-tap water recycling. Residents are concerned about the safety of turning treated sewage into drinking water or pumping it into the county’s aquifers.
“How many letters would you write or how many meetings would you go to once it was already there to scream to get it out? We got to go right now,” said Greg Gimbert, a Daytona resident who started the petition.
Gimbert refuses to let his family drink treated sewage water, saying it’s too risky to trust that it’s safe. He’s pushing the county council to put this on the 2026 ballot for voters to decide.
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“It’s the only enforceable means to adjust the scope and power that we land our elected officials in. Left to their own devices, they’re like drunken frat boys, driving all over the road, and they’re getting ready to crash us into the sewage plant, and I don’t want to drink it,” he said.
County Council Chair Jeff Brower shares concerns about toilet-to-tap, calling it a dangerous solution some Florida cities are turning to.
“It shouldn’t be allowed to happen. Development needs to keep up with what the land can sustain,” Brower said.
At a recent meeting, the Volusia County Council decided to have staff draft an ordinance and charter amendment to consider placing a ban on the 2026 ballot. However, some council members felt the move was rushed.
“We don’t have any projects on the horizon dealing with it,” said Jake Johannson.
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Some residents and conservation groups argue that a ban doesn’t address the larger water shortage problem.
Dream Green Volusia wrote to News 6, saying, “No one wants to drink treated wastewater. If the public is given the right to vote, a crisis water management plan still needs to be addressed. A ban doesn’t solve the water shortage.”
If the ban makes it to the ballot, it would affect residents living in unincorporated Volusia County.
The council is expected to vote on whether to put the ban on the ballot at its March 3 meeting.
Volusia is not alone in considering toilet-to-tap. Tampa and Polk County are investing in projects to turn wastewater into drinking water. In Central Florida, Altamonte Springs is already using treated sewage water for irrigation, though not for drinking.
A few years ago, Daytona Beach attempted to start a toilet-to-tap program but shut it down after resident pushback.