GROVELAND, Fla. – Groveland leaders have approved a key step toward building a new wastewater treatment plant, a project city officials say is needed to replace aging infrastructure that is becoming more expensive to repair and operate.
The City Council on Thursday approved a resolution for a Clean Water Facility Plan. The plan will allow the city to apply for state grants and low-interest loans to help fund a new plant on the north side of town.
The project could cost around $101 million.
Some residents raised concerns about who would pay for the project, especially as customers prepare for another 10% water rate increase in October tied to a separate $265 million water infrastructure project approved in 2024.
“And who’s responsible to pay the debt part?” Groveland resident Greg Tucci asked during the meeting. “How are we going to cover that?”
TJ Fish, Groveland’s transportation and public works director, said the city does not intend to rely on existing customers to pay for the new plant.
“There were 30 years that went by that not much got fixed, and now a lot’s been fixed,” Fish said. “So, this is kind of separate in that regard, that we actually don’t intend to look to our existing customers to pay for anything that we do with this new plant.”
Fish said customer utility rates serve as a financial safety net, but the city’s goal is to fund the plant through money tied to new growth and development, along with outside funding.
“The way we really intend to pay for the plant is for new things coming in that are giving us new money,” Fish said.
City officials said the new facility would also be built to modern standards, with more resiliency and backup systems. The city has dealt with infrastructure problems recently, including a lightning strike that caused one of its water treatment facilities to lose power last month.
Fish said a new plant would include redundant power supply and other safeguards designed to prevent similar outages.
Groveland will now submit its application to the state to seek grant funding for design costs. City officials hope the new facility will be completed and operating by 2031.