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City and county discuss regional advanced wastewater plant and potential joint utility
Summary
Officials discussed the county’s plan for an advanced wastewater treatment plant, the city’s existing rehabilitation funds, and the possibility of forming a joint utility board to pursue larger grants and move treatment capacity off the canal to protect the bay.
County and city officials debated whether to pursue separate wastewater projects or form a joint, regional utility to build an advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) plant that would move treatment away from the canal and reduce discharge risks.
Speaker 4 said the county is in engineering for an AWT plant and invited the city to join a joint utility and board, arguing that combined efforts could unlock larger grants and produce a plant located away from the bay. “You join with us… and make a joint utility that we could even possibly get aboard,” Speaker 4 said.
Speaker 2 responded that the city recently received about $25,000,000 toward rehabilitation but noted retrofit and lagoon cleanup costs are likely much higher than that grant alone. Multiple speakers said a shared facility must protect the city’s current customers and financial health; any joint plan should ensure equitable representation and preserve city revenues.
Speakers suggested early steps: forming a study committee, engaging Dewberry or other consultants with experience in regional utility boards, producing cost analyses and evaluating sites away from the bay, and ensuring treatment capacity matched projected future demand rather than building too small a plant.
Next steps: attendees agreed to explore a joint committee to study a regional plant, request comparative cost estimates from consultants, and present findings at the next workshop.
