American Beach water and sewer project nears close as county readies asset-management resolution

American Beach’s long-running water and sewer project is moving into final construction and close-out stages, project staff told the American Beach Water and Sewer District Advisory Board, but residents and staff said drainage and paving work remain unresolved and could delay final street repairs.

Project updates and a schedule for remaining work

Irby Butler, a member of the project team, told the advisory board on the monthly meeting that construction is “winding down, so these are becoming fewer and fewer, which is good news.” She reported crews have relocated auto-flushers that had been placed in difficult-to-access locations, installed required sod and landscaping, removed berms pushed to the edges of roads, and installed a guardrail at Lift Station 2 and landscaping and irrigation at Lift Station 12. Butler said thermostriping on roadways has paused because the work is temperature-dependent and will resume when conditions allow. She said crews expect to program the auto-flushers and schedule periodic “blow offs” in January so the devices will help circulate water in the system.

Butler also said the REDI grant work to abandon septic systems and complete sewer connections has progressed: crews finished work on Lee Street this week and plan to continue work eastward under the grant. She said some individual addresses will be revisited to accommodate property conditions and owners.

Drainage, paving and remaining schedules

Advisory board members and residents raised repeated concerns about new or worsened street flooding after trenching and soil disturbance. A resident told the board that streets that never flooded before are now experiencing standing water and that privately built houses on formerly vacant lots may be changing local drainage patterns.

County project staff said they have a drainage design in progress for areas including the intersection of Julia and Irvin streets and that road and drainage work will be coordinated with the county's pavement management plan. Butler said the drainage design work will be completed ahead of county paving, and a county staff member said paving of remaining unpaved streets is expected "by the end of the summer" but that the timeline is fluid and dependent on finishing the current construction contract and on weather.

Officials described follow-up steps and responsibilities

Butler and other staff reported a recent meeting with the project team, US Water, and county road and bridge and stormwater engineering to identify solutions for the drainage areas. They said crews will remove silt and re-establish swales in ditches before thermostriping and paving proceed.

Board and county procedures that remain

Project staff informed the advisory board that the Board of County Commissioners will consider a proclamation for American Beach Day, marking the 90th anniversary, and will receive a presentation from the Florida Rural Water Association on an asset management plan. Butler said the asset management plan "is a requirement of the state revolving fund loans that were secured to finance the project" and must be adopted by the Board of County Commissioners via resolution so the county has an inventory and maintenance plan for the infrastructure paid for with those loans.

Residents' comments and contractor performance

Several residents praised the contractor crew by name for professionalism and responsiveness. One resident said crews "know every house" and described them as "very professional." Board members encouraged property owners who are connecting to sewer to also connect to water service, noting that sewer charges can be assessed on a higher flat rate for customers who are sewer-only because the utility cannot meter water use from private wells.

What remains on the board's agenda

No formal actions or votes were taken at the advisory-board meeting. Staff said remaining items include close-out work with the state and contractors, scheduling the county's paving of remaining streets, completing the REDI grant septic abandonments and sewer hook-ups, and seeking Board of County Commissioners adoption of the asset management plan by resolution.

The advisory board will receive further updates at its next regular meeting.