Planned wastewater treatment plant upgrades is good news for the environment

Posted On: September 6, 2022

Design work will begin soon on environmentally friendly upgrades of Volusia County’s wastewater treatment plant in DeBary that will increase the plant’s capacity, enhance the biosolids treatment process and increase the availability of reclaimed water for lawn irrigation.

Once the project is completed, the capacity of the Southwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility to provide an advanced level of wastewater treatment will nearly double – from 2.7 million gallons per day to 5 million. The plant improvements will boost water quality and conservation efforts in the region, which includes ecologically sensitive Volusia Blue Springs, Gemini Springs and Volusia Blue Spring Run.

The massive project has been in the planning stages for several years. The next step in the process is the design and engineering work. On Tuesday, the County Council awarded an approximately $2.4 million contract to CPH Consulting of DeLand to design the project and handle permitting, pre-construction and grant assistance services. In addition to expanding the plant’s capacity, the project also will include a new, Class A biosolids management treatment facility and up to 10 million gallons in additional storage to further reclaimed water initiatives. The design and permitting work is expected to take approximately 19 months to complete. If everything stays on schedule, construction could begin in 2024.

Upgrading the plant is crucial because of the need to handle a growing volume of wastewater while complying with state mandates to improve water quality in the environmentally sensitive spring sheds. The advanced level of treatment helps filter out harmful nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous that can end up in the groundwater. In addition, because conventional septic treatment systems within densely populated areas don’t adequately prevent these pollutants from percolating downward into the aquifer, there’s a push to mitigate their combined impacts in the most sensitive spring shed areas. Ensuring added capacity at the county’s regional water reclamation facility to handle the added flow would be a key to making that happen.

Meanwhile, the additional storage tank will make more reclaimed water available for an expected increase in irrigation demand – another step in conserving precious groundwater resources by using reclaimed water instead for lawn sprinkling.

“This will allow us to, again, continue to expand alternative water supply uses in order to reduce our influence in Blue Springs and the freshwater groundwater supply,” Mike Ulrich, the county’s director of water resources and utilities, told the council.

Including construction, the overall project is estimated to cost $40 million. Recognizing the ecological importance of the project, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and St. Johns River Water Management District have allocated more than $17 million to this initiative. The county’s Water Resources and Utilities Division is overseeing the project. While still tentative, the current schedule shows construction wrapping up in January 2026. Tuesday’s vote approving the design contract was unanimous.

“This whole project is absolutely required,” said County Chair Jeff Brower. “We’re a growing population.”