PORT ST. LUCIE — Port St. Lucie is moving forward with plans for a new water treatment facility designed to support the city’s rapid growth and increasing water demand over the coming decades.
The Discovery Water Treatment Center, a reverse osmosis plant planned along Discovery Way, will become the city’s fourth water treatment facility and is expected to expand service capacity in western Port St. Lucie and beyond.
City officials say the project is part of a long-term infrastructure strategy aimed at preparing for continued population growth.
“When the city plans for the future of our utility system, we're not just looking 10 or 20 years into the future, but really 30, 40, and 50 years from now,” Strategic Communications Director Scott Samples said. “And this new water treatment facility is part of that planning process, and it's been in the plans for quite some time.”
According to background information attached to a Port St. Lucie City Council agenda item, the city’s Utility Systems Department master plan projects current water treatment capacity will be insufficient by 2030. The South Florida Water Management District’s Upper East Coast Water Supply Plan update also identified Port St. Lucie as the only public water supply system in the planning area unable to adequately meet projected demand through 2045 using its existing facilities.
The Discovery facility will use reverse osmosis technology for water purification and draw water from wells connected to the Upper Floridan aquifer through the Southwest Wellfield.
Officials say the plant’s location was selected to accommodate development in one of the city’s fastest-growing areas while also supporting the broader utility system.
“As the city continues to grow in that western corridor, this will be really well-situated to provide services, not just for the western part of the city, but for the city as a whole,” Samples said.
Port St. Lucie’s existing facilities currently have a combined treatment capacity of 42 million gallons per day, while average daily demand sits at about 23 million gallons, according to the city.
“The daily demand currently is about 23 million gallons,” Samples said. “So we're in good shape now. This is really a way for us to continue to build to that capacity for the future.”
Construction is expected to occur in phases, allowing the plant to expand alongside the city’s growth.
“That'll allow us for future plant expansion,” Samples said. “So the first phase, it'll be a little bit smaller, but it'll be able to grow as we continue to see the need grow.”
He said the initial phase is planned for a capacity of 10 million gallons per day, with future expansion increasing output to as much as 30 million gallons daily.
City documents estimate the project will add between 10 million and 20 million gallons per day of water treatment capacity during planned phases of development.
The total cost of the project is estimated at about $200 million, covering design, permitting, construction and well infrastructure.
“Building in Florida, sometimes there's challenges with weather and things like that. So that's the general time frame,” Samples said. “Those costs will include the design and permitting, construction of the plant, the wells. It's the all-in factor.”
The Discovery Water Treatment Center is expected to be completed and operational by late 2029 or early 2030.