County Signs $2.9 Million Water Quality Project Agreement

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DeLand, FL - The Volusia County Council approves an almost $3 million cost-share agreement to help fund a water quality pipeline project.

The project, which will also receive help from the state, will pay for a pipeline that redirects sewage from a county wastewater plant in Deltona to one in DeBary where it will provide a higher level of treatment. It's also made possible through the cooperative efforts of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the St. Johns River Water Management District.

This project is all reportedly part of a plan to improve water quality in the 130-square-mile area of the Blue Spring springshed by consolidating county-operated treatment facilities in that area.

Before 2014, the county-operated three plants in that region. But, post-2014, the state established enhanced water quality standards for the Blue Spring basin. Those standards came from a state report that concluded nutrients were impairing Blue Spring and Blue Spring Run in the Middle St. Johns River basin.

Following that report, Volusia began to evaluate options for upgrading wastewater treatment in the County. A critical factor was finding the most efficient and cost-effective plan possible. But, it was also about improving spring systems and "being good environmental stewards."

Mike Ulrich, the county director of water resources and utilities, told the council this morning (February 18th) that while septic tanks and fertilizers contribute to water quality issues, so does wastewater treatment plants. With that reason in mind, it was time for the county to go to a higher level of treatment.

"It's a shared resource by all of us, so therefore it's a shared responsibility," said Ulrich to the council.

With improvements in place, one of the county's treatment facilities, the Four Towns facility, was shut down in 2018. Now, the county is preparing to decommission its Deltona North facility before pumping all of its wastewater to the Southwest Regional facility. But, before the change happens, they have to build a high-capacity lift station at the Deltona facility, along with a 3-mile-long sewer pipe connecting to the existing infrastructure between the two.

The cost for the project is somewhere between $5.8 million and $6.2 million according to a release from Volusia County Community Information. At their meeting, the council unanimously approved a $2.925 million agreement. St. Johns Water Management will pay in a share of about $1.42 million, while Florida DEP provides $1.5 million.

With the higher level of nutrient removal at the DeBary facility, the project is expected to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous by approximately 8,400 pounds a year. The move is also expected to reduce the county's utility operation and maintenance costs.