SANFORD, Fla. – After years of utility issues that have disrupted businesses and homeowners in Sanford, two new lift stations are expected to become operational this month.
Our News 6 team visited the downtown area on Tuesday and saw work underway where the infrastructure is being installed behind Hollerbach’s German restaurant, a staple in Sanford. Another lift station will also be connected to Brewlando, which moved into the space previously occupied by Sanford Brewing Company.
The city says that by taking both businesses off the vacuum sewer system, they should be able to alleviate the capacity issues and system failures they have faced in the past.
It’s about a $1 million project to install the two lift stations and connect a third business to the sanitary sewer system.
“I would say over the last four years we’ve lost almost half a million dollars in mitigation, loss of sales, and all sorts of things trying to accommodate the city’s infrastructure,” said Christina Hollerbach, chief executive officer at Hollerbach’s. “And so, we’re really thankful that they’re able to take action and remedy that issue.”
Hollerbach’s family first opened the doors of their beloved German restaurant in 2001, when just over 38,000 people called the city of Sanford home. Today, nearly 67,000 people now live in Sanford, according to the most recent census data.
The growth in population has come with growing pains for the city’s aging infrastructure.
“We’re catching up on a lot of deferred maintenance,” said Mayor Art Woodruff when our News 6 team sat down with him one-on-one during our “Hits the Road” coverage. “You know, our sewage treatment plant is being completely rebuilt. One of the issues is the valves that make the system operate don’t operate if they’re completely submerged, and when Ian came in, everything was completely submerged.”
That storm was a worst-case scenario for Sanford’s sewer lines, but the city says the Utilities Department has been working to address recurring issues.
Hollerbach shared photos with News 6 of flooding in her restaurant in the past. She says they’ve been forced to close before when the infrastructure is overwhelmed.
“I used to love the rain,” said Hollerbach. “But now every time it rains, my anxiety level increases because I’m like,’ am I going to get called in to mitigate this issue? Am I going to be waiting in sewage water instead of relaxing with my friends and family?’ So, I think for us, it’s that peace of mind knowing that it’s going to be able to accommodate us and keep the building safe.”
Our News 6 team also reached out to Mayor Art Woodruff, who sent the following statement about the city’s efforts to update infrastructure in Sanford:
“The City Commission is very happy to reach this milestone of moving two more significant users off of the vacuum sewer system. The businesses have suffered repeatedly because of temporary failures and capacity issues, especially since Hurricane Ian. I am grateful for the amount of time and work city staff has put into getting these lift stations installed and doing their best to prevent and respond to backups the last two and a half years.
Removing these restaurants will also help with the functioning of the system for the other users on the system. The city is continuing to make improvements on this system that serves about 600 homes. Currently the vacuum plant itself is being refurbished and we are continuing to repair vacuum leaks along the lines."
Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff
City staff tell News 6 that both Hollerbach’s and Brewlando should be fully connected to the new lift stations by July 17th, and they have approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to but both lift stations into service.
When asked how she feels about this hurricane season, Hollerbach replied, “I have had my fingers crossed with this due date. This has been a really long process, so knowing that it’s going to get probably switched over right before the brunt of these storms is very reassuring.”