Miami Upgrades. Deficiencies in Florida s

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1 Miami Upgrades Florida s Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department creates a $13.5 billion capital improvement plan to provide safe and high-quality service. by Janice Hoppe Deficiencies in Florida s Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department Employees: 2,500 JC Arteaga, deputy director of capital improvements: Overall we are going to be spending $1 billion per year for the next eight years or so, but then it will taper down. Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (MDWASD) infrastructure was the reason the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a lawsuit in 2013 against the department. We now have 14 years to comply with everything and a budget of $13.5 billion to complete 81 major projects, Deputy Director of Capital Improvements JC Arteaga says. As the largest water and sewer utility in the southeastern United States, MDWASD serves nearly 2.3 million residents and thousands of visitors daily in 2,209 square miles. MDWASD staff works to continuously provide high-quality water and wastewater services, protecting public health and the environment. The department provides water services to 14 municipally owned water utilities and about 425,000 retail customers. MDWASD provides wastewater services to 12 municipally owned wastewater utilities, the Homestead Air Reserve Base and about 340,000 retail customers. The department treats and disposes of 600 million gallons of water per day. The capital improvement plan will provide necessary upgrades to thousands of miles of pipes, pump stations and water and wastewater treatment plants that provide [users] with high-quality drinking water and wastewater services, the department says. In 2013, MDWASD entered into a federally mandated consent decree with the U.S. EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection The total cost for the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department capital improvement plan is $13.5 billion to correct deficiencies in the infrastructure that led to a lawsuit filed by the EPA. summer 2015 (energy + infrastructure) 51

2 The projected cost of the improvements amounts to $4.1 billion for water projects and $9.4 billion for wastewater projects. that required it to make improvements to the county s wastewater collection and treatment system. The decree was necessary because over the past five years a number of aging pipeline failures have resulted in numerous sanitary sewer overflows. The consent decree deals with wastewater treatment plants, collection and distribution, and operations and maintenance, Arteaga says. The needs are estimated to be $1.6 billion for compliance with the consent decree. The projected cost of the improvements, including the consent decree, amounts to $4.1 billion for water projects and $9.4 billion for wastewater projects. Funding the Projects The total cost for the MDWASD capital improvement plan is $13.5 billion, which will come from bonds and public-private partnerships. To secure debts, rates will need to be increased accordingly. The department s water rates have been among the lowest in the nation for many years, and a rate increase of six percent was approved to begin October The rate increase started at eight percent and will go to six percent this year and next year, Arteaga explains. For the following years, the rates will be determined as the program progresses. The increase will add $2.72 per month to the average customer using 6,750 gallons per month, which will bring the bill from $45.39 to $48.11 per month. Surrounding communities average monthly water bills range from $53.68 up to $ Even with a six percent increase, we re still among the lowest rates in Florida, the department attests. Although the added cost to water bills is a downside, the MDWASD s capital plan is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy by creating 16,470 jobs per year with a total of 164,700 jobs created in 10 years. The department also estimates to contribute $24.9 billion to the region over the next decade. The direct impact of the capital improvement plan will be 7,630 jobs per year and 52 (energy + infrastructure) summer 2015

3 A federally mandated consent decree was necessary because a number of pipeline failures have resulted in sanitary sewer overflows. $12.5 billion total, and its indirect and induced impact will create 8,830 jobs per year and $12.4 billion total. To help alleviate some of the financial impact on residents and the amount of bonds it needs to borrow, MDWASD will look to the private sector for assistance. Florida amended House Bill 85 to expand the use of public-private partnerships (P3) to a facility or project that serves a public purpose. Although the department has developed a comprehensive plan to implement its capital improvement plan, the department believes there may be opportunities to execute certain projects in the context of the P3 legislation. I want this process to be transparent and private business to participate, Arteaga says. Building these projects is not cheap. When the private sector gets into the process they will be assured total transparency. We are really applying our best management practices to this improvement plan. MDWASD will be issuing a P3 solicitation to design/ build/operate a Biosolids Processing Facility (BPF) that will receive and process biosolids from its North District Wastewater Treatment Plant, Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant and South District Wastewater Treatment summer 2015 (energy + infrastructure) 53

4 I WANT THIS PROCESS TO BE TRANSPARENT AND PRIVATE BUSINESS TO PARTICIPATE. Plant. The new BPF will allow MDWASD to produce a higher quality biosolids product that has greater flexibility in how the material is reused or where it is disposed of, thereby lowering disposal costs. It will also provide a solids treatment alternative that is less affected by inclement weather and improve operations for all three of the wastewater treatment facilities. Consent Decree The consent decree states that MDWASD is tasked with providing relief to the endangerment of public health and welfare presented by sanitary sewer overflows of untreated wastewater, the aged and deteriorated condition of force mains within the Miami-Dade wastewater collection, transmission and treatment system, including the 54- inch force main that conveys untreated wastewater from Miami Beach under Biscayne Bay to the Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant. The consent decree found that between 2008 and 2012, there were 177 overflows of sewage to land and waters in the area, totaling more than 50 million gallons. Miami-Dade County also exceeded the permit limits on at least 31 occasions. The decree includes $1.6 billion worth of new infrastructure and the bulk of the capital projects are intended to rebuild and rehabilitate Miami-Dade County s three coastal wastewater treatment plants. Pump Stations The Pump Station Improvement Plan consists of managing the upgrades to the MDWASD Wastewater Collection and Transmission System that includes sanitary sewer collection system, pump stations and force main upgrades. The program includes a lot of pump stations and we have 112 that are in moratorium because they don t comply with the requirements, Arteaga says. The Pump Station Improvement Plan team will prepare a remedial action plan to improve these pump stations and certify to the U.S. EPA that the pump stations are operating within the required parameters. A new pump station and sewer lines in the Brickell Basin area are now under construction. The facilities currently serving the area are inadequate to serve increased usage in existing buildings or new buildings under construction. A new Pump Station #3 will be built on SW 3 Avenue and SW 11 Street to provide more sewer capacity in the area and will replace Pump Station #8. Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department will be spending $1 billion per year for the next eight years to fix its infrastructure. 54 (energy + infrastructure) summer 2015

5 Pump Station #3 will require the construction of 30-inch, 36-inch, 48- inch and 54-inch gravity sewer lines to reroute the wastewater flows. The lines will be installed by micro tunneling. We want to finish all these projects in 12 years, Arteaga adds. Ocean Outfall In 2008, Florida approved the Ocean Outfall Legislation (OOL.) It requires wastewater utilities in southeast Florida that use ocean outfalls to dispose of treated wastewater to: Reduce nutrient discharges by 2018, cease the use of outfalls by 2025 and reuse 60 percent of wastewater flows by We have to comply with the legislation and can t have the wastewater treatment plant disposing the treated water into the ocean, so we have to reuse it or find a new solution, Arteaga says. MDWASD has two existing outfall facilities North and Central districts that are not in compliance. The North District s current outfall rated capacity is 120 million gallons per day (mgd). The Central District has a current outfall rated capacity of 143 mgd. The plan is to reuse 60 percent of the wastewater and dispose of the remaining flow into the Boulder Zone through deep injection wells or outfall backup. The department will reduce flows at the North and Central Districts, which will require new infrastructure to reverse flows in the collection system to run east to west. The department is responsible for managing the design, procurement, construction, and commissioning of the 28 total capital projects associated with the OOL requirements. There are a lot of challenges with the capital improvement plan, including dealing with the procurement process, Arteaga says. Overall we are going to be spending $1 billion per year for the next eight years or so, but then it will taper down. m m Nicholson Construction has been a leader and an innovator in geotechnical construction for more than 60 years. With offices across the country, including Miami and Tampa, Nicholson is a nationally renowned specialty contractor with proven expertise. We pride ourselves on our ability to consistently provide our clients with innovative, high quality design-build options for projects that vary in size and complexity. Nicholson is currently responsible for the planning, engineering, design, permitting, procurement, construction/installation, testing and the start-up of the replacement force main from the Virginia Key Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant under Biscayne Bay Norris Cut to Fisher Island. summer 2015 (energy + infrastructure) 55