Water board backs five municipal reuse and stormwater projects, forwards grants to county commissioners

The Joint Water Advisory Board and Technical Advisory Committee recommended five municipal water-reuse and stormwater projects for Broward County IWRP grant funding and voted unanimously to forward staff recommendations to the County Commission for consideration in March 2026.

The grants package covers two feasibility-and-design awards and three construction awards drawn from a five-application pool. County staff told the boards about roughly $1.4 million available in the two grant categories and said not all funds were exhausted in this cycle. Recommended feasibility-and-design candidates were the City of Hollywood, Pompano Beach and the Town of Davie; Pompano Beach and the City of Miramar were recommended for construction awards. Staff said the recommended construction awards are $200,000 for Pompano Beach and $90,000 for Miramar.

Why it matters: the IWRP grants fund projects that reduce potable-water demand, expand reclaimed-water distribution and pilot potable reuse or green stormwater infrastructure. Board members said the awards advance county resilience and regional water-supply goals and asked staff to continue outreach so municipalities know how to apply for future cycles.

Staff presentation and recommendations: Dr. Mound, presenting the 2025 Broward County Integrated Water Resources Plan grant cycle, said the program funds either feasibility and design or reclaimed-water construction projects with a required partner cost-share. "We had approximately $1,400,000 between the two categories," he said, and added that staff scored five applications and moved two feasibility/design and three construction projects forward after TAC review. Project descriptions presented to the boards included: Pompano Beach—expansion of reuse distribution (purple-pipe) for irrigation, including 4-inch and 6-inch mains; Town of Davie—potable-reuse pilot at System 4 Water Reclamation Facility; Hollywood—Phase 2 of a green stormwater infrastructure pilot with bioswales and permeable pavers; Miramar—median reuse irrigation design and construction along Miramar Parkway.

Timing, next steps and conditions: if the County Commission approves the WAB recommendation, staff said they will develop scopes and execute interlocal agreements in winter/early spring and aim to present the projects to the Board of County Commissioners in March 2026. Staff also said there is remaining budget in the feasibility/design category and that a spring grant cycle is being considered to use leftover funds.

Board action: a motion to support staff's recommended grants was moved by Commissioner Goode and seconded by Commissioner Casciano; members voted in favor and the motion was adopted unanimously. The meeting record shows prior procedural actions as well: the minutes of the March 14, 2025 meeting were approved by voice vote and the board re-elected its chair and vice chair before discussing grants.

Context and constraints: board members pressed staff on outreach to municipalities, scoring rubrics and funding availability. Staff described multi-pronged outreach (TAC announcement, webinars, direct contact with mayors and city managers) and said applications were evaluated on a published rubric. The board noted the short timeline for ILAs and construction and that final execution depends on County Commission approval and later contract/ILA work with participating cities.

Ending: the WAB/TAC vote sends staff recommendations to the County Commission; if approved the projects are expected to begin scope development in early 2026 and, subject to ILAs and available budget, move toward construction thereafter.