CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH

MEMORANDUM

DATE:             June 9, 2008

TO:                  D. Mike Good, City Manager

FROM:            William M. Brant, P.E., Director, Public Works, Utilities and Engineering

SUBJECT: Long Term Goals for Hallandale Beaches Wastewater Capacity and Legislative Mandates

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this item is to consider the long term goals of the City of Hallandale Beach pertaining to wastewater in light of recent legislative mandates.

BACKGROUND:

Recent actions by the Florida Legislature and State Regulators give reason for municipalities along the Southeast coast of Florida, such as Hallandale Beach, to look into the future, and understand what our wastewater options, costs and needs are.

Status:

All wastewater from Hallandale Beach is currently collected through a system of gravity sewer collection lines, pump stations, and pressurized force mains, and is transmitted to the City of Hollywood wastewater treatment plant. Hollywood serves as a regional provider of wastewater treatment and disposal for itself and  other neighboring cities. Hollywood accepts the wastewater transmitted to it by these cities and is responsible to provide proper treatment of the wastewater, disposal of the treated effluent, and disposal of residual sludge. Of particular interest is that Hollywood utilizes an ocean outfall for some of the treated effluent disposal. After the wastewater receives full treatment as required by Federal and State regulations, it is pumped through the outfall and discharged near the edge of the Gulfstream This method of disposal has been in place for over 50 years and is also used by four other municipalities including Miami-Dade, Broward, Boca Raton and Delray Beach.

DISCUSSION:

For the past 25 years these utilities have studied whether these discharges to the ocean have resulted in unacceptable impacts to the nearshore waters, reefs, or water quality, beginning in the 1980’s with the Southeast Florida Outfall Study, phase 1 and 2, and more recently with the Florida Area Coastal Environment (FACE) study. These studies were multiagency in nature, including Federal, State, and local agencies and the research was performed by experts at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  Their conclusions demonstrated that the outfalls used by Hollywood and others posed little risk to nearshore waters, reefs, or water quality, but that other sources of nutrients and pathogenic organisms do exist which could be sources of contamination. To date these studies have not been challenged. (This information was provided to the City Commission at its March 19, 2008 meeting.)

Nevertheless, in contradiction to these studies, the 2008 Legislature passed Senate Bill 1302 which requires all 6 outfalls to significantly reduce flows to the ocean and to find ways to reuse the effluent. The effect of this legislation is to require construction of very expensive treatment and distribution systems which would reroute the treated effluent from the outfall reuse facilities and to be used for irrigation and recharge of the Biscayne Aquifer. At the March 19, 2008 Commission meeting, the various options for Hollywood were presented, with associated costs totaling up to $745 million in capital cost and resulting in an increase of up to $91 per month to the typical ratepayer.

What are our options?

Hollywood is now calculating the costs of performing the capital improvements and the routine operation and maintenance costs of the final bill that was approved by the Legislature. It is clear that the costs will be significant and that water and sewer rates for residents in South Florida will rise significantly. We should evaluate our options and take action now to address these concerns. These options include:

1) Municipalities joining forces to minimize the impact of the new legislation, either by legal challenges or by legislative amendments in next year’s session.

2)  Immediately dedicate resources to enhance the City’s ongoing I&I program. I&I refers to the fact that high groundwater levels and high rainfall rates in South Florida result in significant quantities of water seeping into the City’s gravity sewer system and pump stations. Seepage occurs because of the aging system that develops leaks and openings that allows water to enter the system on a continuous basis. The City has, in the past, conducted preliminary investigations, and has successfully rehabilitated 66,000 feet of the 320,000 feet of gravity sewer lines within the City. This leakage uses up significant hydraulic capacity of the entire sewer system and is very expensive because it mixes with the sewage; the City is charged the rate applicable to sewage. It is estimated that Hallandale Beach pays between $800,000 to $1,200,000 per year as a result of this infiltration, and that an enhanced I&I reduction program could effectively eliminate more than 50% of the I&I.

3) Identify other ways to reduce our wastewater bill. This option may include reducing the wastewater flow to Hollywood through the construction and operation of a City-owned wastewater treatment facility along with effluent disposal and reuse. A similar option would involve the use of a fairly new technology to extract irrigation quality water from the City’s wastewater system for use on City-owned properties.

RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends the Commission give serious consideration to this important matter, in light of the financial implications of recent legislation.

Reviewed:

_______________________________                                                          __________

D. Mike Good, City Manager                                                                             Date

_____Approved                _____Disapproved                _____Hold for Discussion