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Zephyrhills to double sewer plant's size

The project, set to accommodate the city's growing population, will allow 4.5-million gallons of wastewater to be treated in a day.

By MINDY RUBENSTEIN
Published September 12, 2006

ZEPHYRHILLS - To meet the needs of its growing population, the city will spend nearly $13.5-million to expand its wastewater treatment plant, plus additional expenses for a retention pond.

Following a bidding process, City Council members voted Monday evening to double the size of the existing plant using Wharton Smith Construction, based in Sanford.

"The low bid has met all of the specifications so there's no reason not to go with them," said Louie Sellars, the city's utilities superintendent.

"We know they're a good company," Sellars said, because the company did the plant's previous expansion in 1989. He added that he expected the current expansion would have cost closer to $15-million.

Located on Alston Avenue, the sewer plant will be able to process 4.5-million gallons of wastewater a day, more than double its current 2-million gallon capacity.

The project should begin in November and take about 18 months, Sellars said.

The existing plant, which has undergone two expansions since it was built in 1968, originally served a population of about 4,000.

While the city now has 12,500 residents, a third of its customers are outside city limits, so the number served by the facility is significantly higher.

"We're looking at 16,000 for sewer," Sellars said.

The water treatment process brings brownish wastewater from homes and businesses through pipes to the facility, which treats the water using sand filters and chlorination, then pumps part of the now-clear water back into the system for use as reclaimed water.

About 500,000 gallons are used for reclaimed water for golf courses, and the rest is sent to a holding pond. The sludge left over in cake form is made into fertilizer and processed by an outside company.

"If it's not expanded, we don't grow," said City Manager Steve Spina. "We don't have the capacity to handle the growth that's coming."

Following the expansion, residential rates are expected to increase, but not significantly, Sellars said. The money for the project will come from a low-interest state fund.

"We're just anxious to get started on it," Sellars said.

In other news, council members voted to apply for a grant for improvements to Krusen Park on Alston Avenue. The city plans to move the Krusen Park T-ball field to another location within the park and make improvements such as additional lighting, fences and dugouts.

Also, the council supported building a covered pavilion at Zephyr Park near the city's new water park and will discuss the upcoming grant application at a future meeting.

[Last modified September 11, 2006, 23:09:57]