Commission approves interlocal water interconnect with Eagle Lake to boost system redundancy

The Winter Haven City Commission approved an interlocal agreement with the town of Eagle Lake — part of the consent agenda adopted April 28 — to establish a water interconnect at Cooley Road and Winter Lake Road to improve redundancy between the two systems.

City staff described the facility as a bi‑directional interconnect that allows Winter Haven and Eagle Lake to supply one another in emergencies or short‑term needs; the agreement defines emergency, short‑term and long‑term use. Staff clarified that providing emergency supply is not required if doing so would violate the city’s consumptive‑use permit or lower the city’s service below acceptable standards. The staff presentation noted that water supplied under the agreement will be billed to the receiving jurisdiction at Winter Haven’s lowest commercial customer rate; the interconnect can also be used to “wheel” water from regional sources as needed.

Public‑works staff said the interconnect is one of several the city has or is pursuing to improve regional redundancy: interconnects currently exist with Lake Wales and Lake Alfred, and staff reported ongoing or prospective interconnect discussions with Dundee, Haines City and Polk County. Staff said the Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC) supplies and future wellfield projects will change available capacity numbers when they come online.

Commissioners asked whether the agreement would conflict with existing water cooperative arrangements; staff said it would not and noted the city already engages in similar interlocal and cooperative arrangements. The item was approved as part of the consent agenda vote; no separate public comment or roll‑call vote on the item was recorded in the meeting transcript.