At the Oct. 7 Indian River County Commission meeting, commissioners reviewed a policy which would require mandatory connection to county sewer service where available or once it becomes available. The initiative comes as a part of the county's septic-to-sewer (S2S) push.
Sean Lieske, utility services director, presented to commissioners the proposed changes that day. He started by highlighting HB 1379 and SB 1632, which prohibits the addition of the addition of new Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems (OSTDS) within a Basin Management Acion Plan (BMPA) or IRL Protection Program boundary.
Much of Indian River County finds itself situated in one of those boundaries. Lieske outlined important dates with these legislation.
- Jan. 1, 2024: New OSTDS must be Enhanced Nutrient Reducing OSTDS (ENR-OSTDS)
- Feb. 2, 2026 (and every two years after): Utilities within BMAP must provide the Florida Department of Environmental Protection a list of noncompliant properties with existing OSTDS where sewer is available but not connected
- July 1, 2030: Any property on OSTDS must connect to central sewer if available, or upgrade to ENR-OSTDS
Lieske named a number of other municipalities which are currently in compliance with mandatory connection, including Citrus, Manatee, and Nassau counties.
He also addressed capacity concerns, citing that currently, facilities have capacities of 12.02 million gallons of sewer water a day, and 20.44 million gallons per day for water. To connect the 28,374 parcels that require connections to the system, it would increase system loads by roughly 5 MGD for sewer, and 1.4 MGD for water.
This would be within current capacity limits, however Lieske says improvements should be made.
"That doesn't account for new growth, it doesn't account for annexations, it doesn't account for potential expansions to the USB, and would certainly require infrastructure improvements to make all that work," he said.
There are currently an array of different S2S projects underway in the county, including one in Wabasso Island and another in Sebastian. Lieske said they hope to have the projects completed before 2030 to give affected residents the time they need to make the necessary upgrades.
Howard Richards, capital projects manager for the department of utility services in the county, gave an estimated total of $3.31-3.69 billion dollars.
"This is the estimated cost of what it would take to deliver sewer to 28,00 properties without sewer," he said.
Costs of installation depends heavily on the level of infrastructure which already exists or doesn't exist on each property. The department is asking that county waive certain requirements as a cost saving endeavor for the project, including: suspending "no sewer without water," waiving assessments of IRC Costs, waiving select permit fees for septic conversions, and more.
Richards also asked commissioners to allow the utilities department to develop its own financing options, as well as endorse and promote third-party financing programs.
Commissioner Joseph Earman expressed support for the idea, but has trepidation.
"The tough sell is going to be the cost," he said.
Commission Vice Chair also voiced some hesitation, citing the potential for change in the upcoming Florida legislative session which could affect the speed at which the S2S project needs to be addressed.
Lieske responded by saying that while it's true things could change, the department is operating on the knowledge they have now.
"If we don't require people to connect, it's hard to go and say 'hey we're gonna spend all this grant money to install the public infrastructure' and then nobody connects," he said.
On the cost to residents, Lieske argued that residents will be spending money either way, either choosing ENR-OSTDS or connecting to sewer. He said that the county's plan does offer some residents savings overall.
Commissioner Chair Joseph Flescher said he believes that now is not the time for such actions.
"I just don't know how much the citizens can bear at this point," he said.
Lieske reiterated that this mandatory connection policy is an order from the state. He also said that implementing this project will only get more expensive as time goes on.
After further lengthy discussion, a motion was eventually filed, which passed 3-2.