Consultants recommend phased expansion of Edgewater wastewater plant; city has $19.1M grant

Consultants from Half Associates presented a wastewater treatment plant master plan at an Edgewater City Council workshop on Feb. 14, recommending a phased expansion that would increase permitted capacity from 2.75 million gallons per day (MGD) to a 4.125 MGD first phase and ultimately about 8.25 MGD.

"We were successful in obtaining a $19,100,000 grant to put towards this project," said Rob Erne, a Half Associates engineer, noting the award is a one-time supplemental appropriation that must be spent by the end of 2031. Erne and colleagues said the city should begin solicitation for an engineer in the coming quarters to meet schedule constraints tied to that grant.

The consultants' analysis, based on population and flow projections, found that the plant's existing permitted capacity of 2.75 MGD and the city's committed capacity for Deering Park (2.185 MGD under a November 2025 utility services agreement) mean the facility will exceed available capacity around 2033. "We currently estimate that the current capacity will be exceeded in 2033," said the presenting engineer.

To avoid overbuilding and to time construction with growth, Half Associates recommended four staged expansions of roughly 1.375 MGD each. The firm estimated phase 1—enough to raise the plant to about 4.125 MGD—would cost about $93 million for design, permitting, construction, administrative and contractor fees; with the $19.1 million grant applied to that figure, roughly $74 million remains to be financed.

Lisa King, who leads the consultants' funding team, outlined a funding strategy that includes the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF), which requires a facilities plan component and a secondary application due March 12; potential Florida legislative appropriations; WIFIA loans; the Florida Jobs Growth Grant Fund; the Water Quality Improvement Program (WQIP) Indian River Lagoon category; and longer-lead alternative water supply grant opportunities for 2027. "Y'all got the maximum award possible. You got a 100% grant," King said of the supplemental appropriation.

Consultants stressed flood resilience as a principal driver for the work after damage from prior storms, proposing elevation of electrical buildings and a new operations building outside the floodplain to reduce outage risk and improve redundancy.

Elected officials and residents praised the consultants' funding work but raised concerns about who will pay for the expansion. Mayor de Pue thanked the team and council members emphasized the need for impact fees to ensure growth pays for itself. One resident said she would not support measures that increase costs for current utility users. City Manager Joe Mahoney estimated the new public-works facility represents roughly 4–5% of an average user's bill—about $5 to $8 per month—and said the plan will support updating impact fees so incoming development bears more of the cost.

Erne also noted a procedural step linked to SRF: the city's facilities plan must be approved by the council before it is transmitted to the Department of Environmental Protection. Consultants said they will return to the council to request that approval as part of the SRF application process.

A council member raised a question about pending state legislation (referred to in the discussion as SB 718) that they understood could shift water and stormwater authority to the state. King said she had not heard that and would make inquiries before traveling to Tallahassee; council requested follow-up.

Next steps set by staff and consultants include scheduling an engineering RFQ, selecting a design engineer, preparing the SRF facilities plan for council approval, and pursuing additional grants and loan programs to close the roughly $74 million funding gap for phase 1. The workshop adjourned without a formal vote on the master plan.