Woodville residents had the opportunity to hear from Leon County officials about upcoming sewer and other infrastructure projects at a Sept. 22 town hall meeting hosted by Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor at the Woodville Community Center.
The meeting included a presentation on wastewater infrastructure projects.
Leon Public Works Director Brent Pell said there have been 300 septic tank-sewer connections in the Woodville area to date, with 370 septic tanks abandoned so far in the Wakulla Springs primary focus area.
The Woodside Heights septic-to-sewer project was completed in 2019. It serves 198 lots with 189 connections at a total project cost of US$5.4 million.
The Phase 1 Annawood and Belair projects were completed in 2021. Annawood serves 50 properties with 42 lines; Belair Phase 1 serves 40 properties with 21 lines. Construction of Belair Phase 2 is expected to begin within two months.
Phase 1A of the Woodville Septic-to-Sewer project is scheduled to begin construction in December and last approximately 24 months. Phase 1B construction is expected to begin in March 2023 and take 30 months to complete.
The Woodville Septic-to-Sewer project is expected to serve 986 lots and cost approximately $48.6 million.
One official described the project as extensive: “Everything will be demolished. Literally.”
The NE Lake Munson Septic-to-Sewer project is expected to begin construction in December and will take approximately 18 months to service 220 lots, 126 of which are pending sewerage, and an estimated project cost of US$12.1 million. Dollar.
Sewage treatment upgrade projects in the region are replacing traditional sewage treatment plants in Wakulla Springs’ primary focus area with advanced nitrogen treatment systems. The current pilot, with a $1.5 million grant from FDEP, has so far upgraded 43 systems at no cost to homeowners.
A new septic tank upgrade incentive program, due to begin soon, will provide up to $7,500 in incentive to upgrade failing or aging traditional septic tanks to new performance-based systems. About 150 homeowners are expected to benefit from the project thanks to a new $1.5 million grant.
Access to sewerage will affect the type of development allowed in Woodville. With a septic tank, the minimum lot size for the development is 1/2 acre. At the septic tank, nonresidential development is restricted to producing a sewage flow of no more than 900 gallons per day.
Existing sewer connections should make Woodville significantly more attractive to commercial developers.
For homeowners/owners who volunteer to connect to the sewer before the service is available or when it comes to their area, they can connect with no service connection fee. Depending on availability, connection to the sewage system is not absolutely necessary; However, once the sewer is installed, permits will not be issued to repair a sewer system if a sewer connection is available. If a septic system fails while a homeowner is awaiting sewer connection, repairs are permitted until it is available. If a homeowner does not voluntarily commit to sewer connection and the sewage system fails, they must connect the sewer and pay for the connection costs. Homeowners who are not connected to the sewer system also have to pay a monthly fee.
Residents who are connected to the sewer pay an additional 50 percent surcharge because they live outside of the city of Tallahassee.
This is intended to allow the city to recoup the cost of pipe operations; It’s not the cost of each sewer hookup, which is around $10,000.
The transition from conventional septic tanks to sewers is an important step in protecting the Wakulla Springs Basin from contamination.
Members of the audience at the meeting who inquired about when construction had started in their neighborhood were encouraged to visit the county’s website, which includes a map of the county’s infrastructure projects.
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