Orange County marks 500th septic-to-sewer connection in Palms neighborhood

Orange County officials marked the 500th residential sewer connection in the Palms neighborhood on Monday, celebrating a milestone in a county septic-to-sewer conversion meant to protect nearby Wekiwa Springs and the Wekiva River.

Mayor Jerry L. Demings said the project began in summer 2021 and praised residents and partner agencies for the work. "This is a great day in Orange County," Demings said, adding that crews have been "working hard to install sewer connections to homes." He noted the county expects to convert almost 2,000 homes over the life of the program.

The conversion is financed in part by grants and a local Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU) that shares costs among homeowners, officials said. Commissioner Christine Moore, who has led outreach in District 2, said early public meetings regularly drew hundreds of residents and that neighborhood balloting showed strong support; she said many ballot measures passed with nearly 90% approval among returned ballots. "We had a purpose to save the water and to save our spring," Moore said, describing years of outreach, fundraising applications to the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and adjustments to voting thresholds to accommodate neighborhood conditions.

Mark Cannata, deputy director of Orange County Utilities, said the utilities department led engineering, construction and public outreach and thanked contractors Prime, Quest and Metro. "We are pleased to commemorate this major milestone," Cannata said, and singled out program manager David Armes and field crews for their work. Utilities director Ed Torres was not at the event.

Officials and residents said the conversions are intended to reduce nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen entering the springs and river from failing or aging septic systems. Commissioner Moore said homeowners have faced one-time connection costs that can range in the neighborhood of $6,000 to $7,500, and that the program uses a mix of grant funding and the MSBU to reduce individual burden.

Moore described several procedural hurdles the county overcame: initial balloting rules that required a high neighborhood approval rate, follow-up applications to state and water-management funding sources, and multiple rounds of resident outreach. She said the county collected ballots at neighborhood exits during one Thanksgiving weekend to meet an early threshold, and later the commission adjusted requirements to a two-thirds rule for returned ballots. Moore also said officials expect the larger countywide effort to continue "at least another five years."

The ceremony included remarks from representatives of the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the placement of the final pieces of a 500-piece commemorative puzzle. County officials noted Commissioner Victor M. Uribe arrived after the program began and that the board voted unanimously to support the initiative in prior action referenced at the event. No ordinance or motion text was presented at the ceremony.

Officials said they hope to see measurable water-quality improvements in Wekiwa Springs and the Wekiva River as additional homes connect and the county completes subsequent phases.