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Temple Terrace flags aging water and sewer infrastructure; staff signals minimum 5% rate increase
Summary
City staff described multiple water and wastewater capital needs — lift station rebuilds, SCADA upgrades, force‑main work and distribution repairs — and said the water/wastewater rate will be at least 5% pending a finalized five‑year capital plan.
City of Temple Terrace staff told the council Friday that the city's water and wastewater systems face multiple capital needs and that they expect to propose a minimum 5% rate increase for the enterprise funds after completing a five‑year capital plan review.
"The rate is expected to be a minimum of 5%, which was the recommendation in last year's pro forma," the city manager said while reviewing the water and wastewater capital requests and timing. Staff said the 5% figure is a floor and that a final percentage will be presented once the five‑year capital improvement program is revised.
Staff outlined specific enterprise investments proposed across several funds: a $266,245 conversion from gaseous to liquid chlorination at the water treatment facility; $100,000 for SCADA upgrades that control lift stations; design and construction projects including a $2 million rebuild of Lift Station S B; a $500,000 gravity main replacement on Montrose Avenue; and a $150,000 design and permitting allocation for a pressure‑reduction project in the Terrace Oaks neighborhood. The presentation also included a portable genset and light tower, a valve‑exerciser skid and a utility truck to support valve operations.
On distribution‑system work, staff described an approach to isolate and replace a tuberculated eight‑inch gravity main on North Queensway with a smaller, targeted segment to reduce cost (presented as roughly $400,000) rather than replacing an entire line. Staff described the SCADA upgrade as "critical" because the system monitors and controls lift stations and said the city needs the latest version to maintain system reliability.
Several council members asked for additional modeling of how rate increases and transfers would interact with other revenue sources. One council member asked for multiple scenarios—showing, for example, the effect of a 5%, 6% or 7% increase on the use of reserves and any proposed use of Community Investment Tax dollars to buffer rates. Staff said they would return with scenario modeling at the July workshop.
Staff also described operational investments for wastewater, including acquisition of a dedicated pump truck (programmed at $260,000) to avoid cross‑contamination and to ensure availability for sewer work, and a plan to design a Davis Road force‑main replacement that staff said was built in 1991 and has about five years of useful life remaining.
The city manager said some of the enterprise capital requests remain preliminary while staff continues the five‑year CIP review. Final project lists and a recommended rate will be presented at the next council workshop on July 8, staff said. The council did not take any formal action on rate changes during Friday’s session.
