Lake Panasoffkee residents and Sumter County officials may find out next month whether grants are available to help fund a costly centralized sewer system in the community.
County Administrator Bradley Arnold suggested a workshop could be held the last week of August for representatives of the Florida Government Utility Authority (FGUA) to present information to commissioners about financing for the project, estimated to cost as much as $40,000 per household.
“They’ll know (by then) whether grant funding gets it to the price point where they consider it affordable,” Arnold said.
Commissioner Oren Miller, who said he has met several times with Lake Panasoffkee residents, said commissioners should have their own workshop about the project before meeting with the FGUA.
Replacing septic tanks with a centralized sewer system is viewed as a stop toward cleaning up the lake, but residents fear it could open their rural community to unwanted development.
The county used federal money from the America Rescue Plan Act to pay for a Lake Panasoffkee sewer project study. You can read the complete study at: https://www.fgua.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lake-Pan-Water-Wastewater-Improvement-Analysis-Presentation.pdf
The FGUA is working with the Lake Panasoffkee Water Commission to develop the project and Arnold said the county has no further role.
