The city runs the only city-owned electric utility in Palm Beach County, makes its own power, and serves about 37,000 customers, with federal grant money now going into hardening its grid. The utility's lines get marked when you call 811. Past the meter, the lines are the property's, and nobody marks those. We do.
Ground Conditions in Lake Worth Beach
Much of Lake Worth Beach is low, wet ground. Federal soil surveys show a lot of sandy soil with the water table about 6 inches down, low pockets that hold standing water, filled lots, and areas of organic muck where the water sits right at the surface. There are dry sand ridges too, and the difference between them can be a block or two.
That matters for radar. On the dry sand, GPR sees clearly and deep. On the soggy ground and the muck, water soaks up the signal and the scan gets shallower, so we lean harder on tracing metal and wired lines and we tell you exactly what depth we reached. On an older lot with replaced services, knowing those limits up front is what keeps a crew from trusting a blank spot.
What’s Under the Streets in Lake Worth Beach
Lake Worth Beach is different from its neighbors. The city runs its own electric utility instead of FPL, serving about 37,000 customers, and in 2023 it won a $23.5 million federal grant for solar, battery storage and grid upgrades. The city runs the water too, from a lime-softening plant with a reverse-osmosis plant approved alongside it. Wastewater goes to a regional plant the city shares with West Palm Beach and its neighbors, and gas comes from Florida Public Utilities.
In April 2024, a contractor working for a phone company hit a 36-inch sewer line near Florida Mango Road, and an estimated 3 to 5 million gallons spilled before crews got it stopped days later. Big or small, the line that gets hit is the one nobody knew was right there. Knowing exactly where a line runs, and how deep, is the whole point of a locate, and on your side of the meter nobody else is going to find it for you.
We cover downtown along Lake and Lucerne Avenues, College Park, the beach, and the neighborhoods west of Dixie Highway, plus nearby Lantana, Palm Springs, Greenacres, and Boynton Beach.
