Wastewater Utility

Overview

The Wastewater Department is responsible for providing program management and administration of the Village’s Wastewater Utility.  This includes providing information and customer service to utility customers, formulating a yearly budget for operations and capital improvements, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the wastewater collection and transmission system, managing all phases of capital construction, implementing the Repair and Replacement schedule, administration of the Interlocal Agreement with the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District (KLWTD), coordination with other governmental agencies and permitting agencies,  reviewing development plans and specifications, coordinating billing issues with the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, developing and administering the Village Utility Policy and the Design Standards Manual, and contract administration.

History

Legislation passed by the Florida Legislature mandated higher wastewater treatment and disposal standards for the Florida Keys and required that all wastewater treatment systems in the Florida Keys be upgraded and/or replaced to meet Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) or Best Available Technology (BAT) capabilities. The Legislation established a mandatory compliance date of December 31, 2015.

In response to the State’s mandate, the Village began designing and building the Wastewater collection system in August 2012.  An agreement was signed with the KLWTD to provide treatment and disposal at their treatment facility in Key Largo.  The project was Substantially Complete before the State mandated deadline in December 2015 and final Completion was achieved in July 2016.

The project was funded by a combination of Wastewater Assessments, Federal and State grants, and a portion of the monthly wastewater utility bill.

Reynolds Water Islamorada, now Reynolds Construction, LLC, operated the collection and transmission system for the Village through a contractor until March 2018. In March 2018, the Village transitioned to an in-house operation for Wastewater Operations and Maintenance services. The decision to transition to in-house operations was not due to the poor performance of the service provider, but an effort to achieve future cost-savings for Islamorada residents.

Wastewater System Description

The Village Wastewater system includes a vacuum collection system with a vacuum pump station located in each of the following areas: Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, South Plantation Key, Middle Plantation Key, and on Sunshine Boulevard. in North Plantation Key. In addition, there is another vacuum pump station and a re-pump station located in North Plantation Key.  In some areas of the Village, vacuum collection is not feasible and those specific areas are served with a low-pressure force main collection system.

Once collected, all effluent is transmitted via the force main to KLWTD for treatment and disposal.

For information regarding FDEP permitting, sewer connection permit approval processes, to request As-Built drawings, and general wastewater system questions, Email Administrative Office or call 305-664-6450.