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Titusville provides update on Osprey Water Reclamation Facility; pond sampling shows variable bacteria levels, follow‑up testing underway
Summary
Staff summarized the Osprey facility’s capacity, maintenance needs and a recent water‑quality sampling effort around the plant pond and nearby river; initial multiday sampling showed elevated counts that later declined, and staff recommended expanded outfall testing and added an aeration project funded by a grant.
City utilities staff provided an update on the Osprey Water Reclamation Facility at the July 22 meeting, describing the plant’s role in the sewer system, needed capital work and recent sampling that tested water quality in the pond adjacent to the plant and nearby river locations.
A utilities presenter said the Osprey facility, opened in 1960, treats roughly 40–45% of the city’s wastewater flow and that the plant’s “max capacity” average daily flow shown in staff materials is about 2,750,000 gallons; plant throughput varies with rainfall and can spike above daily averages. Staff said the city has invested about $2 million in ARPA funds to reduce inflow and infiltration in the system and listed about $2.3 million in planned projects for the Osprey plant over the next 10 years, including separating reject and reuse tanks, replacing aged buildings and upgrading dewatering and digester systems.
Staff said a full replacement or relocation of the plant would be substantially costlier: roughly $33 million for a rebuilt plant at current replacement cost, and a range of approximately $48 million to $77 million if reconstruction and force‑main work to connect to Blue Heron were required.
Regarding water quality, staff said the city responded to concerns about the condition of the pond outside the Osprey plant by conducting a 4‑week sampling cycle with an outside laboratory experienced with brackish water. The pond and adjacent inner river locations were classified into broad categories (good, moderate, poor) using the geometric mean methodology used for beach and recreational water testing. Initial sampling showed poor readings at the pond and some river locations; later weeks’ samples showed counts falling to moderate or good levels. Staff expanded sampling to meet the methodology’s need for 10 samples in a 30‑day period and began a second 4‑week testing cycle.
Staff said two abandoned 14‑inch force mains in a nearby ditch — scheduled to be removed as part of a separate force‑main procurement project — remain a potential infrastructure concern but that inspections to date had found no active leaks from those mains. Utilities staff recommended twice‑yearly sampling of major stormwater outfalls and prioritized monitoring locations where sewer lines cross storm infrastructure. Staff also said the city received a SOAR grant to install a solar‑powered aeration system in the Osprey pond to improve circulation and nutrient uptake.
Member Mascoso commended staff for the proactive sampling, thanked plant staff for their response efforts and noted the importance of the plant crew’s work during storms.
Staff emphasized that the investigation and follow‑up remain ongoing and that further sampling and infrastructure work will continue.
