Okaloosa County, Florida: drinking water report. Okaloosa County – Fort Walton Beach, Crestview, and Destin – serves about 210,000 residents in the Florida…
Okaloosa County – Fort Walton Beach, Crestview, and Destin – serves about 210,000 residents in the Florida Panhandle. Water comes from the Sand and Gravel Aquifer and the Floridan Aquifer. The county is home to Eglin Air Force Base, one of the largest military installations in the world by area.
Eglin Air Force Base's massive footprint and extensive firefighting foam use make it a significant PFAS source. The Department of Defense has identified PFAS contamination at multiple locations across the installation. According to the Florida DEP's monitoring data, PFAS has been detected in public water system wells near Eglin, with some readings exceeding state screening levels.
UCMR5 data shows PFAS detections in county water systems. The Air Force has begun remediation at several Eglin sites, but the installation's size means cleanup will be a multi-decade effort.
Okaloosa County's PFAS exposure is driven primarily by Eglin AFB. Communities near the base face the highest documented contamination.
Check your water for data specific to your area. Reverse osmosis is the most effective household treatment for PFAS. Our water filter guide covers certified systems. Pull your detailed report, and visit our Florida page for statewide data.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Okaloosa County, FL.
The EPA places Okaloosa County, FL in Zone 3 - the EPA's lowest-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level below 2 pCi/L. Zone maps predict an area's radon potential from geology and existing indoor readings; they say nothing about a specific house. Testing is the only way to know your own level.
31% of homes in Okaloosa County, FL were built before 1980, and 2% before 1950. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, so housing age is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This describes the county's housing stock, not any one home.
Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) in Okaloosa County, FL averages 8.2 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual standard of 9 µg/m³. These are CDC modelled county estimates rather than readings from a specific monitor.
How radon zones work · Air quality by county · Lead exposure guide