Cooper City consultants urge multi‑year investments for water, wastewater and plant electrical systems

At a Cooper City workshop, consultants from Hazen and Sawyer presented a 20‑year master plan for the city’s water, wastewater and plant electrical systems and recommended a multi‑year investment program to renew aging equipment and reduce operating risks.

The plan finds Cooper City’s membrane water treatment currently meets federal and state standards — including the new EPA PFAS rule the consultants said requires compliance by April 2028 — and has capacity to serve projected growth. But the consultants said substantial renewal and replacement spending is needed over the next two decades for distribution mains, wastewater package plants and the shared plant electrical switchgear.

Hazen and Sawyer project director Janine Whitgriffey told the commission the firm provided a written report and a Power BI dashboard with the recommended 20‑year capital improvement program. "We will present the water system, the plant electrical, the wastewater system, and then be open for questions and answers," Whitgriffey said.

George Brown, the consultant who presented water and plant electrical findings, said the water treatment plant reduces PFAS to below detection now and that the EPA’s new rule sets a 4 parts‑per‑trillion limit with an April 2028 compliance date. "The city's technology — membrane treatment — is capable of meeting that requirement," Brown said. He added the city’s treatment and supply capacity is sufficient for projected city growth (about 35,000 to 38,000 residents over 20 years) under current assumptions.

Brown identified recurring iron and sediment from raw wells as an operational problem that accelerates cartridge filter…