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Sarasota wastewater plant sees more than $250M in upgrades
The process underway in Sarasota County turns wastewater into something useful by reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus from reclaimed water. FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon reports.
SARASOTA, Fla. - The process underway in Sarasota County turns wastewater into something useful by reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus from reclaimed water.
Sarasota County has been working on improving that process at its Bee Ridge facility for the past several years.
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It's something environmentalists have been eager to see.
The ribbon-cutting symbolized more than $250 million worth of upgrades, transforming the Bee Ridge Wastewater Treatment Facility to an Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility.
"Not only are we converting it to advanced wastewater treatment standards, we are actually doubling the capacity. We are going from 12 to 18 million gallons a day in treatment capacity," said Brooke Bailey, the public utilities director for Sarasota County.
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Why it matters:
It's a big boost for the community and the environment.
"It reduces the nitrogen and phosphorus that we are giving out into the community, which helps keep our bay as nice and clean," said Bailey.
It also helps harden the facility against future hurricanes.
"This facility is more resilient in terms of storms and other natural disasters that may happen, so people may have more reliability," said Jeaneanne Gettle, the deputy regional administrator for the EPA Region 4.
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Once nitrogen and phosphorus levels are reduced, the water is then returned to the environment through irrigation and salinity barrier wells.
"Our infrastructure is aging across the country and these innovative new technologies really give us the best outcomes for the communities at lower cost and really build into the future," said Gettle.
The backstory:
In 2019, Suncoast Waterkeeper filed a lawsuit against Sarasota County over wastewater spills happening at the facility. A Federal court order called for the system upgrades.
"Sarasota really embraced the need for these repairs and understood and understands the need to protect the Bay waters and the waters of Phillippi Creek that were mainly being impacted by the spills that occurred for 10 years that almost amounted to a billion gallons of partially treated sewage that flowed into Phillippi Creek and then into Sarasota bay," said Justin Bloom the founder of Suncoast Waterkeeper.
The Bee Ridge Advanced Wastewater Treatment Project is now the largest in the state, meeting the needs of a growing community while working to protect the environment.
"We celebrate this as a win for the county, a win for Suncoast Waterkeeper and a win for the community," said Bloom.
The Source: Information was gathered by Fox 13's Kimberly Kuizon through Sarasota County and Suncoast Waterkeeper.