FORT PIERCE — City and utility leaders marked a major milestone last week with a ribbon cutting for Fort Pierce’s new Mainland Water Reclamation and Reuse Facility, a project officials say has been more than two decades in the making.
The ceremony, held Jan. 9, celebrated the completion of the new treatment plant, which will ultimately replace the city’s aging waterfront facility on the Indian River Lagoon. While the new plant is finished, the broader project is still continuing.
Calvin Daniels, a public relations specialist with the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, said the next phase focuses on reshaping how wastewater moves through the city.
“Phase 2, an update of the entire conveyance system to re-route wastewater flow to the new treatment plant is ongoing,” Daniels said. “While most of the system is currently flowing eastward, it will now be re-directed to flow westward toward the new plant.”
That shift requires major construction across the city’s utility network. Daniels said the plan involves 17 separate projects, including new and upgraded force mains, changes to lift stations and the construction of booster pump stations to handle higher and redirected flows.
“A preliminary design report was completed in early 2024 that identified the 17 projects, many of which are currently in various phases of design and construction,” he said. “While those projects are being completed, both treatment plants will be operating in parallel.”
If the timeline holds, the older island facility could be taken offline later this decade.
“Current estimates anticipate that we’ll be able to decommission the old plant in 2028 or 2029, but there is still a lot of work to do,” Daniels said.
Utility officials say relocating treatment operations away from the lagoon is central to the project’s purpose. Daniels said the move reduces environmental risk and responds to both state requirements and long-standing community concerns.
“Relocating the plant from the island to the increased capacity facility reduces risk to the Indian River Lagoon, strengthens environmental protection, and supports long-term growth and reuse opportunities,” he said. “Because the island location is considered vulnerable to storms and floods, the state of Florida has mandated that all waterfront sewer plants be relocated off the lagoon or implement major infrastructure improvements to stay compliant.”
Beyond meeting those requirements, Daniels said the relocation also strengthens the city’s sustainability efforts by eliminating storm-related risk, cutting energy use and reducing the demand on drinking water supplies. He said the new facility uses technology that is about 15 percent more energy efficient and immediately reduces freshwater draw from the Floridan aquifer through reuse at the Treasure Coast Energy Center.
He added that the project supports broader environmental goals, including creating opportunities for seagrass restoration in the Indian River Lagoon and laying the groundwork for expanded reuse water service to customers beyond the energy center.
He added that local residents have pushed for the change for years.
“Also, the community wants it moved. This has been planned and discussed for over 20 years,” Daniels said.
Once the full system is in place, the new facility is expected to significantly expand reclaimed water use across Fort Pierce. Daniels said the completed project will allow for up to 5 million gallons per day of reclaimed water, supporting irrigation and other non-potable uses, including cooling towers at the Treasure Coast Energy Center.
“Additionally, reuse helps conserve drinking water supplies and supports sustainability,” he said.
Designers also built the plant with the city’s future in mind. Daniels said the facility’s expandable capacity is meant to keep pace with development while reducing strain on natural resources. He said the site footprint also allows for the potential of direct potable reuse treatment in the future.
“The facility was designed to support Fort Pierce’s long-term growth and future demand,” he said. “It provides modern, state-of-the-art, expandable treatment capacity and will ultimately deliver up to 5 million gallons per day of reclaimed water, supporting new development while conserving drinking water supplies and protecting the Indian River Lagoon.”
For now, the plant is in a transitional phase.
“The facility is currently engaged in operational testing in preparation for the ongoing completion of the re-routing of wastewater flow,” Daniels said.
The scale of the project comes with a significant price tag. Daniels said the design and construction of the new treatment plant cost about $140 million.
Phase 2 is more difficult to pin down financially because it consists of multiple independent construction efforts.
“Because Phase 2 is a collection of 17 different projects which each will have an independent guaranteed maximum price, it is harder to state the cost of Phase 2,” Daniels said.
So far, the three largest contracted projects total about $19.5 million. Daniels said utility leaders are carefully weighing each additional phase.
“Importantly, each project is re-visited for cost effectiveness and necessity prior to pursuit,” he said.
Funding has come from a mix of local and outside sources. Daniels said FPUA launched the effort with a $100 million municipal bond funded by ratepayers, while its grants team has secured $75 million in state and federal support. Another $5 million in state funding is still pending.
He said that outside funding has played a key role in limiting the financial impact on customers and reflects broad support for the project at multiple levels of government.
“FPUA is working hard to ensure no customer rate increases will be necessary to fund the remainder of this project,” Daniels said.
Daniels said the project is also part of a wider effort to improve both sustainability and service across Fort Pierce, including sewer lining to reduce leaks in older pipes, expansion of water and wastewater service to more residents, septic-to-sewer conversions to reduce environmental risk, and new initiatives such as turning sewer system waste into usable soil material through biochar technology.
From a community standpoint, Daniels said the new plant was intentionally built in an industrial area away from both neighborhoods and the lagoon. He said residents have been involved from the start through town halls, regular updates and ongoing site tours with groups ranging from local college students to civic organizations and policymakers.