Item 9A v
August 7, 2006
MEMORANDUM
TO: The Honorable Mayor
and Members of the Commission
~.
FROM: Jim Hanso
City anager
SUBJECT: City Mana er's Report
AGENDA ITEM #9A
AUGUST 14, 2006
Grant Offered from Water Management District for Wastewater Reuse Project; Mayor
John Peyton, in cooperation with the St. Johns Water Management District, has announced that
state grants will be made for several projects that will improve the quality of the water in the
lower St. Johns River. One of these is a $1.5 million dollar grant to the City of Atlantic Beach to
install filters at the Atlantic Beach wastewater treatment plant and piping so that approximately
210,000 gallons per day of wastewater could be used for irrigation at the Selva Marina Country
Club.
Many cities and counties in Florida operate reclaimed water facilities making wastewater
available for irrigation. The City of Jacksonville Beach does this for their city golf course.
Every five years, municipalities are required to renew their permit for operation of their
wastewater treatment plants and must prepare a reuse feasibility study to determine if diverting
some or all of the wastewater for irrigation purposes is economically feasible. Atlantic Beach
prepared estimates in 2001 to construct a reuse system to provide irrigation for the Selva Marina
Country Club, which was the largest single user of irrigation in the area and thought to be the
most feasible option. The conclusion of that study was that the project was not financially
feasible. This reuse study was updated earlier this year and. the current estimate of the cost is just
over two million dollars. Just under half of that is for piping modifications to get the wastewater
to and across the golf course property. Comparing the capital and operating costs for a reuse
system with the city's current cost for wastewater treatment, it was again determined that this
project was unfeasible. The information was submitted to the state DEP and Water Management
District.
~" Atlantic Beach has not applied for this grant to the state. However, the Water Management
District is making reuse a priority and has indicated that they will support making this money
available if it will make the project feasible. Representatives from the country club have
~"'" indicated a willingness to pay some of the cost for the project which may include either part of
the capital construction cost and/or a monthly fee for use of the wastewater. The next steps in
this project will include learning more from the Water Management District about the parameters
~"' of the proposed grant and meeting with the country club representatives to find how much they
are willing to contribute to the project. A report will be made to the Mayor and Commission
when more information is available.