Wildwood may be able to use state or federal funds to expand its sewage treatment capacity.
The city will request $4 million from the state to help pay for upgrading its 40-year-old treatment plant and building a new one next to it.
City Manager Jason McHugh said Monday night that Wildwood has slowed down processing of residential development applications until plans are advanced for the expansion projects. The slowdown does not affect about 7,000 units already approved or in process.
In a letter to two newly elected state legislators, Sumter County Chairman Craig Estep endorsed Wildwood’s funding request along with others from Bushnell, Webster and for sewage treatment in Lake Panasoffkee.
The letter to state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia and state Rep. John Temple also asked that they protect the remaining home rule powers of local government, which have eroded over the past decade.
Apartment construction and home building in the Villages of Southern Oaks are pushing Wildwood toward the treatment plant’s 2.8-million-gallon daily capacity limit.
Last October, Wildwood commissioners approved a $2.3-million design and engineering contract with CPH Engineers that covers all pre-construction phases of upgrading the old plant and building the new one.
Capable of handling six million gallons of wastewater daily, the two plants would allow a smooth transition from the old plant to the new one.
Estep’s letter also called upon the legislators to endorse other projects in the county.
Webster is requesting $3.7 million to complete its grinder pump replacement project in Johnson’s Subdivision. The project will supply efficient gravity wastewater service to an economically disadvantaged sector of the population.
Bushnell is asking for $2.5 million for the Sumterville Drinking Water Interconnect Project, which will extend a water line and provide better water quality.
Florida Government Utility Authority is requesting $1.1 million to develop a sewage treatment and collection system for Lake Panasoffkee, where residents now rely on septic tanks.
Sumter County is asking for $900,000 to develop an emergency sheltering and training facility to serve Lake Panasoffkee residents and Interstate 75 travelers.
