Growth forces Fruitland Park to address wastewater treatment needs

Fruitland Park commissioners held a workshop Tuesday night to study improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment system due to growth.

Ten years ago the city was dealing with a failing wastewater treatment plant and entered into an agreement with Lady Lake to treat wastewater as Lady Lake had excess capacity at that time. Fruitland Park is nearing the end of the 10-year agreement in which the city sends wastewater to Lady Lake for treatment. 

Lady Lake has another wastewater treatment plant coming on line in about two years, but the town also has another 4,200 units to be constructed which will add to the usage. Lady Lake commissioners have expressed some irritation with Fruitland Park for not adding wastewater capacity during the 10 year period of their agreement

In the workshop, Fruitland Park commissioners reviewed a report prepared by the Halff corporation, which is a full-service infrastructure consulting firm, that explored the future needs of the community. The Halff representative who presented the report addressed the need for expansion of the water system and waste water treatment system. He told the commissioners that the water treatment plan including construction of a new wastewater treatment plant could cost the city as much as $50 million.

The new waste water plant would require that the city acquire the land for the plant in addition to the construction costs. Construction of the new waste water treatment plant would take until August of 2028, after the agreement with Lady Lake has expired. The alternative would be to seek an extension of the city’s agreement with Lady Lake to provide wastewater treatment. 

Commissioner Patrick Degrave suggested that Fruitland Park should explore creating a partnership with Lady Lake to enlarge the new Lady Lake plant to meet both cities future needs. The commissioners agreed to have acting City Manager Karen Manila meet with the Lady Lake town manager to explore a solution which would meet both cities wastewater needs.

Wildwood commissioners are also struggling with a critical demands for wastewater treatment as its population explodes.