Palm Bay utility director outlines water, wastewater expansions and timelines; wastewater plant startup pushed into late year testing

Palm Bay’s utilities director briefed City Council on a slate of water and wastewater projects the department says are needed to serve growth, meet regulatory requirements and deliver system resiliency.

Gabriel Broden told the council the city expects to bring two major expansions online for the South plant — a 2,300,000‑gallon addition that is expected to come online in 2026 or 2027 and an additional 2,000,000‑gallon increment later — and said both expansions are funded by impact fees. Broden also discussed plans to install a new reverse‑osmosis (RO) treatment plant at the North plant to address PFAS and chloride issues, and said an RO system will improve compliance and supply reliability.

Broden reviewed operational metrics, including a percentile benchmark from the American Water Works Association showing Palm Bay dropped from the 84th percentile of supply usage in 2023 toward a lower percentile after recent expansions, and that the planned projects would move the system toward what he called a more comfortable operating band.

On wastewater, Broden updated council on the South Regional Water Reclamation Facility, which has suffered delays attributable to COVID‑era supply chain issues, contractor performance and needed design revisions. He said the city increased contractor check-ins, started weekly calls, made select owner direct purchases to keep the schedule moving and reordered construction priorities to get critical components completed first. Broden said dry system checks were targeted to start Oct. 27, wet checks in December and phased startup between Jan. 5 and Feb. 4; those dates were presented as targets and subject to contractor and subcontractor performance.

Broden also discussed department priorities including project delivery, employee recruitment and regulatory compliance. He noted efforts to recruit and retain qualified operators, including a Heritage High program partnership and recent staff licensing achievements. Broden said the department has increased engineering partners and added contracts for plant repairs and emergency services to improve delivery.

Council members pressed for clarity on funding and schedule contingencies; Broden said some projects are funded entirely by growth impact fees, while other projects will be bid and funded through the city’s capital process. He also said the RO plant was driven by regulatory compliance concerns related to PFAS and chloride limits.

The council did not take a formal vote on the presentation; the briefing was informational and intended to prepare the council for upcoming capital requests.