Winter Springs wastewater infrastructure improvements take precedence

With a month of hurricane season left, Winter Springs has approved a series of wastewater infrastructure repairs and improvements in the wake of city waste and stormwater issues.

Monday night’s commission meeting saw the unanimous approval of three agenda items related to infrastructure repairs and equipment purchases in building “resiliency” and maintaining critical wastewater services in the city. 

“These repairs and updates for building resiliency will continue for some time,” Mayor Kevin McCann said.  

The city’s storm and wastewater infrastructure have been a longstanding point of contention. Residents are calling for improved infrastructure efforts after issues such as residential flooding, especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Milton. 

Items approved by the Commission include the purchase of two portable and one permanent bypass pump to “utilize at lift stations for enhanced emergency preparedness,” a vendor contract award for an emergency lift station repair and a temporary belt press lease for wastewater treatment plants.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, belt presses are used to extract water from liquid wastewater residuals and produce a solid material known as “cake.” In turn, this process “reduces the volume of residuals, improves operation, and reduces costs for subsequent storage, processing, transfer, end use, or disposal among other benefits.”

Lift stations use collection systems to move wastewater from sources such as sinks and toilets before pumping and moving sewage from a lower to higher elevation to a wastewater treatment site. OCN previously reported on a failed lift station that caused more than 1,600 gallons of raw sewage to overflow into a resident’s backyard in March of this year. 

“These bypass pumps are very, very important to help stop some of the spilling and maintain services for … lift stations and things being used in a lot of different scenarios,” McCann said. “It’s super important.”

In addition to the bypass pumps, the commission also voted unanimously to award a contract for an emergency lift station repair at lift station 5 East, located near Howell Creek. 

The repair comes following damages involving a partially collapsed pipe on site discovered in September. 

According to the item’s agenda summary, the “lift station is the final point in a critical network of wastewater management that accepts flows from two or three other lift stations before directing them to the east wastewater plant.” 

The commission also voted to approve the renting of two belt presses for the city’s wastewater treatment plants, with McCann stating that some of the current belt presses in use are in need of refurbishment. 

“These are belt presses for rental to assist our struggling wastewater plants in processing,” McCann said. “They have been struggling, as we all know. This is supposed to help the efficiency of the two plants, while the one belt press we have is taken down to be rebuilt.”

The rental alone of each belt press will cost the city $56,250 per month. McCann said the lease is expected to last at least for three months for both belt presses, though that could be extended if needed.

With the plans for these infrastructure developments moving forward, there are still calls from residents in regard to how the city can improve its handling of issues related to storm and wastewater. 

Winter Springs resident Leah Weissman suggested to the Commission that a future infrastructure-specific board be appointed to help “information flow both ways” when it comes to needed repairs and issues amidst storm impacts like infrastructure damages and flooding. 

“We need a board for the creeks, but then the creek influences the culverts, bridges, roads and our homes,” Weissman said. “I wish it was simple to ask for the repairs … this would help to know what actually is going on in each neighborhood.”

Commissioner Cade Resnick later said he liked the idea of instating an infrastructure board as proposed by Weissman. 

“Maybe we can really actually take a look at that come the new year,” Resnick said. 

Resnick also added in his report that “a lot” of infrastructure work within the city is still needed, such as work on stormwater culverts that the city needs to work on and repair. 

“We’ve got people that are concerned, people that are upset of flooding coming back, and it’s not just a simple thing,” Resnick said. 

As the final month of hurricane season begins and storm debris pickup continues, McCann said the city is “moving forward” with both preparation and mitigation efforts for the city’s infrastructure. 

“It’s been a very, very busy couple of weeks,” McCann said. “Our wastewater is a struggle, but we’re moving forward. Lots of moving parts in the city these days, but we’ve got an amazing professional staff that I believe has the ability to handle it.”

Want to contact your elected leaders and weigh in on this topic? Find their contact information here. Have a news tip or opinion to share with OCN? Do that here.