Utilities director says Fort Lauderdale on track to meet most consent‑order milestones; new amendment will focus on inflow and infiltration

Albert Carbon, the city’s Utilities Director, gave a detailed briefing on infiltration and inflow (I&I) at the Jan. 13 workshop. He defined the terms on the record: “Infiltration is the groundwater that seeps in through cracks and leaks in the pipes… Inflow is… surface water, that rainwater, the canal water that comes in from the surface.”

Carbon told commissioners the George T. Lohmeier wastewater treatment plant currently receives an estimated 40–50% of flows from I&I, which strains pump stations and treatment capacity and can force plant expansion if not addressed. The city has been operating under a wastewater consent order since 2017; staff reported 71 of 76 milestones are complete and many actions are ahead of schedule. Carbon said the city is negotiating a second amendment that will focus specifically on I&I reductions and will bring staff comments and a meeting schedule with DEP this spring.

He outlined ongoing capital work: about $30 million in contracts for I&I reduction; 33 miles of lined pipe, 40 manholes rehabbed, just under 2,500 laterals lined and roughly 300 point repairs. Carbon said about half of manhole inspections (4,400 of 10,000) are complete and that smoke testing and night flow studies are identifying problem areas. Commissioners asked what would be completed by the March 2027 milestone; Carbon reiterated the original consent‑order projects (71 projects) are due March 2027 and that the proposed Amendment 2 would allocate an additional multi‑year implementation period to further reduce I&I.

Next steps: staff will continue the DEP negotiation process, refine the second‑amendment timeline, and return to the commission with a more detailed schedule and funding plan in the spring.