"Pumping polluted water OK'd for #LakeOkeechobee" - @SunSentinel @abreidnews

Water District agrees to lift "back-pumping" ban

August 10, 2012|By Andy Reid, Sun Sentinel

An old source of Lake Okeechobee pollution could return after South Florida water managers Thursday opened the door to renewed "back-pumping."

In a bid to boost water supplies, the South Florida Water Management District board agreed to explore pumping some of the polluted stormwater that drains off South Florida farmland back north into Lake Okeechobee for storage.

The district stopped that controversial practice five years ago because of environmental concerns about sending water containing polluting phosphorus as well as pesticides into the lake.

 

 

But the district, now under new leadership, has agreed to pursue a watered-down back-pumping proposal that would redirect less farmland runoff water back into the lake than in the past.

Supporters say back-pumping during the rainy season would make more water available for agricultural and environmental needs during droughts.

"Let's look at every option," said district Board Member Daniel DeLisi, who pushed for the back-pumping measure. "We can not back down from looking for a solution."

Environmental groups and the U.S. Department of the Interior counter that the potential increase in pollution isn't worth the water supply boost that comes from allowing back-pumping.

They favor cleaning up the water and using it to replenish the Everglades, instead of pumping it north.

Twelve environmental groups, including Audubon Florida and the Sierra Club, signed a letter opposing the back-pumping proposal.

"The lake is a lake. … It's not to be used as a reservoir," said Mark Perry, of the Florida Oceanographic Society. "[Back-pumping] adds pollution to the lake and to the estuary downstream."

More phosphorus, nitrogen and other nutrient-rich pollutants that result from farming would flow into the lake if back-pumping resumes. That can lead to algae blooms, fish kills and other damage to the lake's ecosystem.

Back-pumping also seems to run counter to multibillion-dollar Everglades restoration efforts aimed at getting more Lake Okeechobee water flowing south to Everglades National Park.

"Anything that takes water supply from the Everglades is not a good thing," said Joan Lawrence, of the U.S. Department of the Interior. "I'm just skeptical."

District officials say their proposal makes use of water that otherwise would get drained out to sea for flood control and would not lessen water going to the Everglades.

They plan several more months of computer modeling to try to gauge the water supply and water quality effects of back-pumping. The district also still needs state and federal approvals before it can resume back-pumping.

The goal of getting the board's OK Thursday was to revive back-pumping as an option, according to district Executive Director Melissa Meeker.

"Let us go down that path to see if it's possible," she said.

Decades of draining land for farming and development eventually led to corralling Lake Okeechobee with a dike for flood control. It also turned the once free-flowing lake into South Florida's primary backup water supply.

That water supply has been strained more than usual in recent years, because the Army Corps of Engineers has been keeping the lake about a foot lower year round due to safety concerns about the lake's dike, which is in the midst of a slow-moving rehab.

District officials bill back-pumping as a way to find more freshwater that could be stored in the lake and help the Caloosahatchee River during dry times, without lessening the amount of water that Big Sugar and other South Florida agriculture rely on for irrigation.

Sending Lake Okeechobee water into the Caloosahatchee River during droughts provides an infusion of freshwater needed to help protect West Coast water supplies and fishing grounds.

During recent years, West Coast communities have periodically cut off from those lake water releases due to South Florida water supply concerns.

Back-pumping supporters say it provides an interim water supply solution while waiting for long-term fixes that include building costly new reservoirs.

"This is a good plan," said Tom MacVicar, a consultant for South Florida growers. "It's a very targeted, sophisticated … limited pumping plan."

Environmental groups say there are other water supply-boosting options to back-pumping. That could include more limits on how much lake water agriculture gets in order to make more water available to the Caloosahatchee.

"We've tried [back-pumping] before, and we know the result," said Cara Capp, of the Clean Water Action environmental group. "We need to try something different."

abreid@tribune.com, 561-228-5504 or Twitter@abreidnews

via articles.sun-sentinel.com

 

"Environmental Groups Want Guaranteed $10 Billion Expenditure in State Constitution" in Sunshine State News

By: Michael Peltier News Service of Florida
Posted: August 8, 2012 3:55 AM
Eric Draper
Eric Draper
Future funding for Everglades restoration and other environmental programs would be enshrined in the state Constitution under a ballot initative proposal to guarantee the spending of $10 billion on such programs over the next 20 years.

Frustrated over withering funds for the state's marquee land-buying program, Florida Forever, and sporadic funding for a host of other environmental concerns from drinking water and springs to beaches and historic sites, a coalition of environmental groups on Tuesday launched a volunteer effort to begin gathering signatures to put the issue on the ballot in 2014.

Dubbed the Florida Water and Land Legacy Campaign, the petition drive is being pushed by a coalition of groups that include the Trust for Public Land, the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, 1000 Friends of Florida, and Defenders of Wildlife.

"We've been left with no options," said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of Florida.

For years, lawmakers set aside about $300 million a year for land-buying, but have rejected that type of spending in the economic downturn of the most recent few years. Since 2009, the state has set aside a total of $23 million for Florida Forever. In 2012, lawmakers earmarked only $8.5 million and prohibited state officials from buying new land.

“When it comes to dedicating funding to protect Florida’s environment, the Great Recession has led to a complete depression," said Manley Fuller, president of the Florida Wildlife Federation, in a statement. "State funding to protect our most precious natural resources has slowed to a trickle.”

The amendment would require that 33 percent of all document tax revenue be earmarked for Everglades restoration and other environmental programs for the next 20 years. The proposal would go into effect July 1, 2015. Collections would be deposited into the state's Land Acquisition Trust Fund, not general revenue.

Before any vote, the group must gather at least 676,811 signatures to put the issue on the ballot. The Florida Supreme Court would also have to approve the ballot title and summary and determine that it satisfies the state's single subject rule, which prohibits citizen petitions from encompassing multiple issues.

The court, however, won't review the ballot language until the coalition has turned in more than 67,811 signatures, a milestone Draper said the group hopes to complete by the end of the year. Once on the ballot, it would have to be approved by at least 60 percent of voters.

Since its inception, Florida Forever and its predecessor, Preservation 2000, have funded the purchase of more than 2.5 million acres of environmentally sensitive lands, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. Since July 2001, Florida Forever has acquired more than 682,000 acres of land at a cost of $2.9 billion.

"A way to protect Florida’s treasures" in @miamiherald

OUR OPINION: A proposed constitutional amendment would keep environmental dollars where they should be

By The Miami Herald Editorial

HeraldEd@MiamiHerald.com

Tough economic times and a penchant in Tallahassee for “easy solutions” to close budget gaps have left the state’s environmental treasures and wildlife programs in the dumps. What these recreation and conservation lands need is a stable, dedicated source of funding.

Enter the Florida Water and Land Legacy Campaign, a coalition that includes the Trust for Public Land, Audubon Florida, the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, 1000 Friends of Florida, Defenders of Wildlife and other groups that want to preserve Florida’s natural beauty — and its clean water — for generations to come.

The campaign will be gathering signatures of registered voters — it will need at minimum 676,811 certified signatures — to put the issue on the ballot in 2014. If voters agree, and there are many reasons they should, the program would raise about $10 billion over 20 years — without any new tax or a tax increase.

It would simply require the Florida Legislature to keep its paws out of the trust funds meant for environmental and parks programs — guaranteeing at the very least that one-third of the revenues from the existing excise tax on documents during the sale of property goes toward designated environmental programs. That tax is now collected, but it’s not being used for its intended purpose.

Once approved by voters, the amendment would take effect July 1, 2015, and the money would be dedicated to the Land Acquisition Trust Fund until 2035 to clean up Florida’s River of Grass, the Everglades, and to protect drinking water sources, support fish and wildlife programs and revive the state’s commitment to buying and protecting ecologically fragile land and habitats through the Florida Forever program.

Florida desperately needs a stable program to protect its most precious resources.

In the past three years, the Legislature earmarked only $23 million for Florida Forever — the state used to spend 10 times as much on land preservation. This year, legislators approved only $8.5 million for water protection and land conservation in a $60-billion budget.

As this new coalition points out, that pittance is less than two-hundredths of one cent that will go toward conservation from every dollar spent in the state budget — less than $1 for each Floridian.

“When it comes to dedicating funding to protect Florida’s environment, the Great Recession has led to a complete depression. State funding to protect our most precious natural resources has slowed to a trickle,” Manley Fuller, president of the Florida Wildlife Federation, said in a press release Tuesday announcing the grassroots amendment effort. “This amendment is not a tax increase. It is the dedication of an existing funding source back to its historic purpose. Passing this amendment will ensure Florida’s long-term traditional conservation values are secure and protected from short-term political pressures.”

For sure, this amendment is not a tree-hugging exercise in futility. It would protect the land and water that Florida needs for its economy to grow. And Florida has a long, nonpartisan tradition in environmental protection. No one wants to go to a beach, river or lake where the water is toxic, and protecting the Everglades will be critical to the state’s ability to ensure safe and clean drinking water for South Florida.

If you’re interested in helping with this campaign, sign up at FloridaWaterLandLegacy.org, or call 850-629-4656.

It’s past time to protect Florida from the political winds.

"Martin Commission to keep pressure on congressmen for rest of funding for water cleansing project " in @tcpalm

STUART — Construction of the massive C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area is on schedule, but the completion of the $364 million project depends on congressional funding, federal officials said Tuesday.

The Martin County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution asking Florida's delegation in Congress to continue to support funding for the rest of the project.

"We want to be on our toes so that we are not waiting, waiting, waiting, but we're pushing, pushing, pushing," Commissioner Ed Fielding said.

However, Michelle McGovern, a regional director for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, said it has become more difficult for Congress to appropriate money for projects in recent years.

"The federal government is having to do what you all have been having to do for a long time; cut back on budgets in places that are painful," McGovern said.

The $32 million first phase of the project is expected to be completed in early 2014, said Orlando Ramos-Gines, a senior project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

However, Congress has not allocated money for the $270 million second phase, Ramos-Gines said. The contract for that work is set to be awarded in August 2014.

The project is being built in three phases because of the funding challenges, Ramos-Gines said. The $60 million contract for the third phase is set to be awarded in April 2017.

The project is designed to store and clean water draining from western Martin County into the C-44 Canal, which also is known at the Okeechobee Waterway and the St. Lucie Canal.

The goal is to reduce the flow of pollution, such as fertilizer from farmland, into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon.

Commissioner Sarah Heard said completion of the C-44 Reservoir project would set the stage for other projects in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

"We need to show completed projects that are working, that are helping, that are implementing CERP," Heard said.

Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, said Martin County's contribution of $27 million in sales tax money from a voter approved referendum shows strong public support for the project.

"We're in this for the long haul," Perry said. "We want this project to continue. If we don't keep it rolling, it's just going to kind of die on the vine."

"DEP pushes consistency in water-use permitting statewide"

Bruce Ritchie, 08/06/2012 - 03:15 PM
Florida's five water management districts have different names for some of their water-use permits, and they apply to different quantities of water use.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Tuesday begins holding a series of rule development workshops in 10 cities to improve water-use permitting consistency among the districts including choosing the same names for permits.

A drought across north Florida late last spring and a proposed water-use permit near Silver Springs has focused environmentalists' attention on water use and water planning. Meanwhile, DEP under Gov. Rick Scott has been focused on streamlined permitting and reducing inconsistency among the districts.

The goal of the DEP rule development is to make consumptive-use permitting less confusing, make environmental protection consistent statewide, provide incentives for water conservation, and streamline the process without reducing protection of the environment and other water users, said Janet Llewellyn, policy administrator office in DEP's Office of Water Policy.

Some rules are different among districts because of the differences in natural resources they were written to protect, Llewellyn said. Other rules are different, she said, only because they were developed separately among the districts.

"Those are the ones we are trying to identify, make consistent and improve so it is not only consistent but is the most efficient process we think we can apply to that permit review," Llewellyn said.

DEP is proposing to establish a general permit by rule that receives automatic approval if standard conditions are met, she said. To qualify, the withdrawal must be for less than 100,000 gallons per day. A more stringent threshold may be required in sensitive resource areas.

All other applications will require individual permits. Each district board still can determine which size or type of individual permits will be issued by staff and which will be issued by the board.

The department found that many water-use permits across the state are for less than 100,000 gallons per day. But the total water use was small compared to the fewer permits for millions of gallons of daily water use, Llewellyn said.

Audubon Florida says a revised state rule should include specific requirements for water efficiency in all permits for more than 1 million gallons per day. Those permits should allow for public notice, a 15-day comment period and approval at district board meetings.

Improving consistency can improve environmental protection if more attention is paid to larger water users rather than to smaller users who don't pose an environmental threat, said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida.

"If it is just streamlining for the sake of streamlining -- less government -- then that's not a good thing," he said. "For the purpose … of focusing government attention on the bigger problems, that is a good thing."

The workshop Tuesday will be held at 9 a.m. at the Suwannee River Water Management District, 9225 County Road 49 in Live Oak.

"Reducing tax rate for water district unwise "- Opinion in @miamiherald

BY ERIC BUERMANN
eric.buermann@usa.net

Can you imagine turning on the faucet but having no water come out? Or, after a tropical storm, grappling with standing water in the streets, or even your living room, because there isn’t an adequate flood-control system?

Florida’s water-management districts protect against these unpleasant situations and fix them when they occur. In addition to performing these important duties, our regional water-management district, the South Florida Water Management District, is the state partner in Everglades restoration. Lacking snow-capped mountains that melt into reservoirs, South Florida depends on the Everglades to recharge underground aquifers as our source of water. Unfortunately, in just the past 60 years since our modern flood control system was built, the Everglades have been severely damaged because of the disruption of water flow and other human activity such as farming and development. Restoring the Everglades, aside from having obvious environmental appeal, is imperative for maintaining our only supply of water.

Last year’s massive funding cuts to water-management districts severely compromised those agencies’ ability to carry out core missions of water supply, flood control, and in South Florida’s case, Everglades restoration. In just the past two years, SFWMD’s water supply budget has been cut almost 70 percent. This is the program that ensures you will have running water tomorrow and 20 years from now; develops alternative water supplies as upper aquifers become tapped out; and fosters water conservation. SFWMD has also severely cut its science, education, and monitoring programs. As Everglades restoration progresses, it is crucial to have adequate science programs to monitor and adapt to changing conditions and to maximize our restoration investments. Land stewardship programs that allow recreation on district-owned lands such as trails, horseback riding areas, and waters have also been greatly reduced.

Initially this year it appeared things might be headed back to the right path. Gov. Scott signed new legislation that lifted his artificially imposed spending limits, ostensibly allowing water-management districts to raise revenues needed to sustain their missions.

Recently, however, the water-management districts set their tax millage rates for next year to establish the revenue they will raise through property rates. Even though the South Florida Water Management District reported an almost $5 million shortfall, it decided to set a millage rate that further reduces its tax revenue — even less than last year’s funding after the draconian Scott cuts. To make matters worse, these reductions will have cumulative impacts in the coming years.

Sadly, politics, rather than science and common sense, have driven the decision-making. It’s understandable in an election year that raising the funds necessary to carry out even legislatively mandated missions might paint a district as increasing taxes. With recent legislation virtually ceding budget decisions to Tallahassee, SFWMD’s Governing Board rubber-stamped these crippling cuts without meaningful discussion.

In exchange, do these cuts produce actual savings for South Florida’s tax payers ? For the owner of a $300,000 house, the reduction in this year’s millage rate will save about $1.50 — less than the cost of a half-gallon of gas.

Gambling with our region’s water supply for fear of appearing to “increase taxes” is irresponsible and a disservice to Floridians. Whether politically popular or not, investing in long-term water supply, restoration, and science is a necessity and best serves the public interest.

Eric Buermann is former chairman of the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District.

 

via miamiherald.com

 

This is just the beginning of a long term investment needed in our water and sewer infrastructure! "Opinion: Fix this stinky mess" in @miamiherald

The Miami Herald EditorialPosted on Sun, Jul. 29, 2012

A broken water line in Little Haiti floods homes and some streets waist-high. The aging wastewater treatment plant on Virginia Key spills 19 million gallons of untreated waste into the ocean. A water main break in Hialeah creates a sinkhole. A burst pipe pours untreated sewage straight into Biscayne Bay.

Over the past two years broken sewer pipes have spewed 47 million gallons of stinky waste onto roads and homes and into Miami-Dade waterways all the way from farmlands in the southern tip of the county to the northern border with Broward, which also is facing major sewer system breakdowns.

With 7,500 miles of sewer lines built into Miami-Dade County’s antiquated system, which is a half-century old in some sections, and with 15 municipal water and/or sewer utilities and the county’s Water and Sewer Department responsible for the upgrades, there has been a lot of finger-pointing but little action to tackle this billion-dollar mess. Indeed, 20 years ago a Miami-Dade grand jury warned that “the Miami River and Biscayne Bay would experience the worst environmental catastrophes in modern history” if nothing got done.

Now, the Environmental Protection Agency is demanding action and the county is in negotiations with federal authorities to come up with a solid plan to fix the treatment plants and faulty pipes.

The last time EPA stepped in because of the county’s neglect was in 1996 when stormwater drainage problems were harming the Miami River and Biscayne Bay. The county has spent $600 million over that time, saving about 100 million gallons of water a day.

Yet the sewer part of the job keeps getting put off — at residents’ peril and with great economic risk to the area’s vibrant tourism industry. Instead of having a pro-active program that repairs aging pipes and upgrades wastewater stations, the county for years used excess money from the residents’ sewer fees to balance the county’s overall budget.

It’s time to increase fees and target that money directly to the repairs that are needed. As it is, the fees county water users pay are among the lowest of any comparable-sized area.

Whether Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is re-elected or Commission Chairman Joe Martinez gets the voters’ nod, the most important issue affecting the health, safety and economic well-being of the county’s residents is the antiquated water and sewer system.

Last year, Mr. Gimenez offered a budget that took $25 million from the sewer funds as a “loan” to balance the county’s books — an effort aimed at not having to lay off more county workers or reduce crucial services to residents. This year’s budget proposal does not dip into the sewer funds and the loan will start getting repaid in 2014. That’s the right thing to do.

Complicating the problem are about 100 miles of substandard piping laid out by a now-defunct company, including the sewer main running under Government Cut to Virginia Key — a potential catastrophe for this area’s tourism.

Mr. Gimenez and Mr. Martinez have pledged to work on a solution, and Mr. Gimenez’s proposed budget includes fee increases that would be staggered over several years to help pay for the upgrades. The mayor also says the county can bond about $300 million and is working with the EPA to come up with a plan to meet federal clean water requirements. Good.

True, this is an inherited mess. Past administrations delayed the inevitable. But no more excuses. Let’s fix this economic disaster in the making. It’s past time.

via miamiherald.com

 

"Audubon challenge targets farm water pollution" in @SunSentinel

sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-audubon-farmers-fight-20120727,0,7985152.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Audubon challenge targets farm water pollution

Environmental group wants farmers to clean up water headed to Everglades

By Andy Reid, Sun Sentinel

7:51 PM EDT, July 27, 2012

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Big Sugar should do more to clean up polluted water headed to the Everglades, according to permit challenges filed by the Florida Audubon Society Friday.

Audubon is fighting three permits that allow growers south of Lake Okeechobee to pump phosphorus-laden water toward the Everglades.

The environmental group wants the South Florida Water Management District to require sugar cane and other farmers to clean up more pollutants before it washes off agricultural fields.

Audubon argues that a new $880 million state and federal Everglades cleanup plan fails to put enough anti-pollution requirements on agriculture.

"Everglades water quality goals can be met more quickly and at less cost to the public if the district adhered to state law and required operators of the dirtiest farms to implement additional cleanup measures to reduce the amount of phosphorus leaving their farms," said Eric Draper, president of the Florida Audubon Society.

The South Florida Water Management District contends that existing pollution cleanup requirements on farmland are significantly reducing the amount of phosphorous that would otherwise end up in the Everglades.

The new Everglades cleanup plan does include stepped up "source controls" targeting pollution efforts where phosphorus levels have been historically higher.

Phosphorus, found in fertilizer, animal waste and the natural decay of soil, washes off agricultural land and urban areas and drains into the Everglades.

Elevated levels of phosphorus fuel the growth of cattails that crowd out sawgrass and other vital natural habitat in areas already suffering from decades of draining to make way for farming and development.

Farms are supposed to grow crops and manage stormwater discharges in ways that limit phosphorous discharges, but environmental advocates contend they aren't required to do enough to clean up pollution.

Florida has constructed more than 40,000 acres of filter marshes - called stormwater treatment areas - that remove some of the phosphorus from water that flows off the farms, before it gets to the Everglades.

But the cleanup efforts have yet to meet the ultimate goal of reducing phosphorous levels in the water headed to the Everglades down to 10 parts per billion.

abreid@tribune.com, 561-228-5504 or Twitter@abreidnews

Copyright © 2012, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

via sun-sentinel.com

"Slime-covered river prompts Florida environmental groups to sue Corps of Engineers" @EvergladesFoundation

Posted on July 24, 2012

A coalition of environmental groups is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, arguing that the way the agency dumps polluted water from Lake Okeechobee is causing toxic algae blooms throughout the Caloosahatchee River near Fort Myers.

"This is making people sick, figuratively and literally," said Becky Ayech of the Environmental Coalition of Southwest Florida, citing complaints about everything from nausea to earaches among people who live along the river. "People have a right to clean water."

When heavy rains push the water level in Lake Okeechobee too high, the Corps opens floodgates that dump millions of gallons of lake water into the Caloosahatchee and also into the St. Lucie River on the state's east coast. But the lake water is full of pollutants, especially nutrients that can fuel algae blooms.

Algae blooms have plagued the Caloosahatchee eight of the past 11 years, the lawsuit points out. Last year's algae bloom lasted for eight weeks, during which officials in Glades, Hendry and Lee counties warned residents to avoid contact with the river water and not to eat the fish.

Even worse, according to the suit filed Monday in federal court, is the fact that what the Corps is releasing from the lake is so polluted it forces the shutdown of a water plant that is supposed to use the river to quench the thirst of 40,000 people.

The problem, according to the suit, is that when water levels are low, the Corps holds water back from the rivers —- to the point where the Caloosahatchee sometimes runs backward. That not only lets the freshwater river turn salty, it also bottles up the pollution in the lake and makes it worse when it's finally released, the suit contends.

Corps spokesman John Campbell said the agency normally does not comment on litigation. However, he said, the Corps manages the lake level in accordance with a 2008 guide that was prepared with the help of some environmental groups.

 via evergladesfoundation.org

 

"Repair bill over $1 billion to fix crumbling Miami-Dade water, sewage system, report says" in @miamiherald

An internal study by the county’s Water and Sewer Department says deteriorated water and sewage treatment plants, along with aging pipelines, will require more than $1 billion for immediate repairs. A massive, five-month internal study by the county’s Water & Sewer Department shows a vast deterioration of water and sewage treatment plants, and aging pipelines, and says more than $1 billion is needed immediately for repairs.

A massive, five-month internal study by the county’s Water & Sewer Department shows a vast deterioration of water and sewage treatment plants, and aging pipelines, and says more than $1 billion is needed immediately for repairs.
TIM CHAPMAN / MIAMI HERALD STAFF

By Charles Rabin

crabin@MiamiHerald.com

Miami-Dade County’s three main water treatment plants and nearly 14,000 miles of pipelines are so outdated it would take more than $1.1 billion just to replace the “most deteriorated, vulnerable sections” of the system, a newly released internal study shows.

Corrosion is so pervasive in the county’s water and sewage-treatment plants, and pipes that move water and sewage, that initial repairs could take from three to eight years, the five-month study found.

Each day 300 million gallons of waste and 459 million gallons of drinking water pass through the county’s system — the 10th largest water-and-sewer utility in the nation.

“The infrastructure we have out there is aged,” said John Renfrow, director of the water and sewer department. “Many of the pipes with leaks out there were built at the same time. It reminds me of an apartment where all the lights are put in at the same time, and you know how all the lights go out at the same time.”

Federal regulators told the county two months ago that it must perform repairs and upgrades. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice, along with the state Department of Environmental Protection, are expected to take another four months discussing with Miami-Dade how to fix and pay for a system that Renfrow said is “being held together by chewing gum.”

The study, requested by Commissioner Barbara Jordan, shows the majority of the initial fixes — about $736 million of immediate work — is needed for sewer lines. Water lines would take another $364 million to repair.

The county’s main water treatment in Hialeah, and two sewage plants, on Virginia Key and in South Miami-Dade, are 56, 45 and 87 years old, respectively.

Fixing wire and concrete erosion in pipes would cost about $10 million, and fixing water mains, tanks and pumps would cost another $129.4 million, the study estimated.

Using Hialeah’s John E. Preston water treatment plant as a typical example, the report noted that it “has numerous mechanical, electrical and process components which have exceeded the end of their useful economic service lives, which is usually 20 years.” A picture in the report shows a collapsed interior wall in the plant, which has been in operation since 1966.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said not much in the report surprised him.

Gimenez, Renfrow and several commissioners agree it’s going to take a combination of rate hikes, grants and revenue bonds to get the system up to date.

They said a budget decision to forego borrowing $25 million from the water and sewer coffers this year is a good start. That money, if left untouched each year unlike in the past, when it was moved to the county’s general fund, could pay the debt service on a $300 million bond, they said.

And despite not wanting to raise taxes or fees as the economy stumbles along, Gimenez and several commissioners say they expect a water rate hike in the near future. Historically, Miami-Dade has one of the lowest water rates in the state.

The county’s aging system — not unlike similar systems in most major cities throughout the Unites States — is in such disrepair that it has ruptured at least 65 times over the past two years, spilling more than 47 million gallons of untreated human waste into waterways and streets from one end of the county to the other.

Just this week a 36-inch main gave way in Little Haiti, leaving several families distraught and in search of a place to stay until their homes dry out.

Renfrow said his department will pay for home repairs.

“The funny thing is we checked the Little Haiti pipes in June for leaks. We didn’t miss anything,’’ he said. “The material is just old, it’s just going to break.’’

Similar main breaks were the focus of warning letters sent by federal authorities to the county from 2010 through May, when they finally came calling. The letters warned of possible civil penalties of up to $10,000 a day.

Talks between the county and the feds are expected to lead to an agreement over repairs and upgrades, as well as the funding mechanism.

“How it will be paid for will be figure out by us,” Gimenez said.

The report notes that the funding methods are not likely to be similar to the early 1970s when Congress passed the Clean Water Act, and grants were available for about 75 percent of repairs.

 

via miamiherald.com