Seminole County takes first steps in $40M septic tank conversion

 To comply with state laws aimed at cleaning up key springs across Florida, Seminole County made the first moves Tuesday toward getting homes off of septic tank systems and onto sewer systems.

Commissioners signed off on applying for a $20 million grant with the St. Johns River Water Management District to start a septic-to-sewer project. Overall, Phase 1 of this project would convert more than 800 septic tank properties in the Wekiva Basin located in southwest Seminole County from septic systems to sewer at a cost of $40 million, after grant funding.

“I’ve been over on the West Coast and have talked to some counties that have 40,000 or 50,000 (septic tanks),” Robert Reiss, the Florida Water Project Team Leader at CHA Consulting Inc., which is working with Seminole County to develop its septic-to-sewer plan. “So thank goodness you’re not winning any awards for the most number of tanks, but we certainly have some in these very critical environmental areas that we have to take some action on.”

Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems – better known as septic tanks – work by taking wastewater from a home and storing it in a tank to be digested by microbes. Solid waste sinks to the bottom, where it may eventually be digested by microbes, and the water is dispersed into a drain field where it will percolate into the soil. 

But that water contains high levels of nitrogen, which ends up filtering into the springs. That pollution can cause algae blooms, fish kills and other issues. Florida lawmakers have passed two major bills to address it: The 2016 Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, and House Bill 1379 in 2023.

Countywide, there are an estimated 26,000 septic tanks; statewide, the estimate is about 2.9 million homes on septic systems.

There are two main areas in Seminole County where remediation is required by state law to make spring waters cleaner. That means houses with perfectly functional septic tanks will have to either be converted to a septic system or get an advanced septic treatment system that reduces the nutrients going into the water system – what Reiss likened to have a “mini wastewater plant, so to speak, on your property.” 

“Where it’s economically feasible, we feel that going to a central wastewater plant makes sense,” Reiss said. “These tanks are in relatively close proximity to central sewer and treatment facilities. These are developed areas and they are interspersed in many instances with neighborhoods that do have central sewer.”

In two Seminole County areas, it’s been determined that septic tanks are responsible for more than 20% of the nitrogen that’s ending up in the springs. That means 3,862 septic tanks in the Wekiva Basin in southwest Seminole County, in the Altamonte Springs area west of Interstate 4, will need to be put on sewer or otherwise remediated. There are also 2,440 septic tanks that must be remediated in northwest Seminole County in the Gemini Springs Basin Management Action Plan, which includes parts Sanford, Lake Mary and unincorporated Seminole County.

Of those, Seminole County is only responsible for an estimated 3,850 in Wekiva and 1,259 in Gemini – or about 5,100 tanks total. The other tanks are the responsibility of different municipalities and utilities.

“Our underserved community will be disproportionately impacted by this decision,” Commissioner Amy Lockhart said in support of the funding. She said communication with residents on why this is being done – because of state regulations, not regulations from the county – will also be crucial.

Seminole County Commissioner Bob Dallari represents the Oviedo area. He said the initial plan was just the tip of the iceberg for a bigger program. The watershed that feeds into Lake Jesup, known as the Lake Jesup Basin Management Action Plan, or BMAP, also has a huge number of septic tanks. But right now, no one in the county or the state is requiring those homes to switch. “I’m not saying the others aren’t important. They are,” Dallari said.  “But they’re not mandated yet by the state. We’re going after the ones mandated.” 

The county is expected to get another update over the summer that will include an economic impact study putting a dollar figure on the larger program. The county has to get the homes off septic tank systems in the watersheds feeding Wekiwa Springs and Gemini Springs by 2040. 

Orange County is further ahead on a septic-to-sewer conversion program. Seminole County Commissioner Lee Constantine said many of the septic tanks in Seminole County are 30 years old – reaching the end of their life.

“It’s a pay me now or pay me later,” Constantine said. “We can show that you’re gonna save money. The monthly bill will not only increase the value – septic-to-sewer will increase the value – the environmental importance is immeasurable and incalculable as far as the cost.” 

Watch the County Commission’s Tuesday meeting here.