Martin County Announces $25 Million Expansion of WWTP
A $25 million expansion of the Tropical Farms water and wastewater treatment
plant has been announced. The contractor will be Lindahl Browning Ferrari &
Hellstrom Inc. of Palm City, FL.
Bowyer-Singleton & Associates Inc. has been selected by St. Lucie County to prepare design plans for stormwater-related projects throughout the county. Completion of BSA's work is scheduled for July 2004.
Port St. Lucie Considers Temporary Sewage Plant
Utility Director Jesus Merejo is recommending the city build a $2.9 million
portable sewage plant on the grounds of Northport Wastewater Treatment Plant to
serve residents until a controversial regional plant can be built on McCarty
Road. Construction of the new, $60 million plant, which would initially process
6 million gallons of sewage a day, has been delayed by protests from nearby
residents and county officials.
Although part of the portable plant may be salvaged and reused at Westport
Wastewater Treatment Plant once the regional plant is built, most of the $2.9
million expense will be unrecoverable, costing each residential customer $50.
City officials plan to close the Northport plant once the McCarty Road facility
is built because there is little buffer at Northport to shield neighbors from
odors.
Merejo said he's worried a potential legal challenge to the regional plant on
McCarty could delay construction for months, prompting the strained Northport
plant to run out of capacity before the new plant is built. Although the
portable plant could be built at McCarty, Merejo said, it would take months to
secure permits and install electricity and pipes at the site. The state
Department of Environmental Protection issued a construction and operating
permit for 6 million gallons of treatment capacity at the McCarty plant.
Situated on about 100 acres of a 408-acre tract, the regional plant eventually
will treat up to 25 million gallons of sewage daily.
The portable plant could be online by November 15, 2004 and provide up to 1.5 million gallons of treatment capacity a day, bringing the plant to 4 million gallons per day, the utility director said. It would consist of an open tank divided into chambers for phases of sewage treatment, said utilities spokeswoman Donna Rhoden. Neighbors shouldn't detect more odor or noise once the plant begins operating.
Sewage-plant Foes Overflow Meeting on Fruitland Park WWTP
There was standing room only in Fruitland Park’s city hall last week as
hundreds of angry Lake County residents questioned city commissioners why they
were proposing to place a wastewater treatment plant in the unincorporated
county. The residents were upset when they found out the City of Fruitland Park
plans to place a wastewater treatment plant in the neighborhood of Spring Lake
Road. The plant is part of the new sewer line system Fruitland Park is having
installed along both sides of U.S. Highway 441, thanks in part to a $1.8 million
state revolving fund loan.
The city is looking at purchasing nearly 19 acres off of Spring Lake Road in Lake County, which is contiguous to Fruitland Park’s city limits. The purchase has not been finalized yet, and if bought, the property could be annexed into the city.
Ted Wicks, city engineer for Fruitland Park, gave a presentation explaining the plant and why the city had chosen the site out of more than 60 original potential sites. He said the city is putting a sewer line along the commercial corridor, along both sides of U.S. 441 from Lake Ella Road to Berckman Street. The city currently uses septic tanks. It is hoped this will encourage further growth in the city. Mayor Ron White said the total cost of purchasing property for the treatment plant would be $275,000.
Most of the residents were concerned with odor problems they believe will stem from the wastewater plant, as well as declining property values. Some were also concerned with nitrates in the water and the proximity of the plant to three lakes.
The commission is scheduled to vote on whether to purchase the property in the county or not on February 3 at the new city hall.
Mcilvaine company forecasts specific FGD projects in Florida
The Interstate Air Quality rule will force Florida utilities to install scrubbers. Mcilvaine has forecasted individual scrubber start up dates and is revising them continually. Here is the schedule as of Februrary 2004
2007
Gulf Power, Crist 7, 500 MW
Progress Energy Crystal River 4, 739 MW
2008
Progress Energy Crystal River 2, 524 MW
Gulf Power, Crist 6, 320 MW
Jacksonville Electric, Northside 1A, 298 MW
2009
Progress Energy Crystal River 5, 739 MW
Gulf Power, Lansing Smith 2, 190 MW
2014
Progress Energy Crystal River 1, 44l MW
Tampa Electric F.J. Gannon GB, 169 MW
2015
Gulf Power, Lansing Smith 1, 150 MW
These are based on the need for Florida to limit SO2 emissions in 2010 to 254,000 tons and in 2015 to 177,000 tons
Precipitator Award Pending at FPL Everglades Plant
Florida Power & Light (FPL) plans to begin installing
electrostatic precipitators in September 2004, with the first precipitator
operational by November 2005, at its Port Everglades electric power plant. The
award for this project should be made shortly
FMPA Considering 800 MW of Coal-fired Power
Sustained high natural gas prices forced the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) to raise its wholesale energy rate effective October 1 for 15 Florida cities and has provided impetus to pursue the construction of either 2 x 400 MW or 1 x 800 MW of coal-fired power generation. This may be a shared project with the City of Lakeland. FMPA is a nonprofit organization that supplies the wholesale power needs of 15 municipal electric utilities in Florida. The cities are Bushnell, Clewiston, Fort Meade, Fort Pierce, Green Cove Springs, Havana, Jacksonville Beach, Key West, Kissimmee, Lake Worth, Leesburg, Newberry, Ocala, Starke and Vero Beach. Owned by the cities it serves, FMPA provides economies of scale in power generation and related services to support community-owned electric utilities.
Progress Energy Needs Another 500 MW at Hines
Progress Energy Florida is preparing to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for firm power supply of approximately 500 MW, beginning December 1, 2007. The RFP will be issued October 7, 2003, and will seek to solicit and review competitive proposals for alternatives to the company's planned generating unit - a 540 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle unit - to be located at the Hines Energy Complex in Polk County, Florida. If no response offers a superior option, Progress Energy would begin construction on Hines 4 in December 2005 with an expected operating date of December 2007.
Expense of desalting water does not deter New Smyrna
The only local city interested in building a plant to convert seawater to drinking water might be the most expensive place to do it. A study comparing the costs of building a desalination plant at five different sites found that building a plant in New Smyrna Beach could cost more than building one near Titusville, in Jacksonville or in Daytona Beach. However, the report's cost estimates haven't dried up New Smyrna Beach officials' interest.
"It would be premature to throw out any sites based on this report," said New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission director Ron Vaden. "There hasn't been enough analysis. If there is enough people involved in a desal project, the city would be receptive."
Cost is certainly not the only factor that could determine where east Central Florida's first desalination plant is built, said Glenn Forrest, a consultant for the St. Johns River Water Management District who oversaw the seawater study.
"Ultimately, it's a utility's decision, and if they are in an area where more groundwater is not available, and they have to find alternative sources, they may be willing to pay for it," Forrest said. "There's not too many other options."
New Smyrna Beach could remain a prime site for desalination because of the newly formed Water Authority of Volusia, the region's first such body empowered to manage water use and build water-treatment plants. JEA, the Jacksonville utility, and Brevard County officials don't want to desalt water in the short term.
"The desal option isn't our next, most economical option," said Brevard County water resources department director Dick Martens.
The price-comparison study is only a first step toward desalination. The water district is offering $200,000 for cities or utilities interested in doing more in-depth environmental studies or running a pilot project at an existing site, Forrest said.
Regional water managers hired R.W. Beck Inc. of Orlando to find out how much it would cost to convert seawater into potable water. The sites chosen for the study included the W.E. Swoope Generating Station in New Smyrna Beach, the FP&L and Reliant Energy power plants near Titusville, a Jacksonville power plant and a Daytona Beach wastewater treatment plant.
The Jacksonville and Brevard plants have one big advantage over the Volusia sites: a power plant that already pulls in nearby river water. Those power plants already have the infrastructure in place to take in and discharge water and also can use discharge water to dilute the brine left over from the desalting process. Tampa Bay Water's $110 million desal plant, the largest in North America, was built adjacent to a TECO power plant.
A New Smyrna plant could cost more because it lacks pipes and machinery to pump in and out the vast quantities of water, the costs of permitting such a facility, and construction of a pipeline to pump the leftover brine to the ocean, since there is no other water to dilute it.
A desalination plant next to Daytona Beach's Bethune Point wastewater treatment plant could produce potable water starting at $3.93 per 1,000 gallons to produce 5 million gallons a day or as low as $3.11 for 15 million gallons a day.
A plant producing 10 million gallons a day could cover most of the deficit that Volusia County is projected to face during the next 20 years.
St. Johns River Water Management District to conduct study for desal plant location
North Florida may have more water than South Florida but planners say it isn't enough in some areas to sustain current growth rates 20 years from now. That's why St. Johns River Water Management District officials have unveiled five sites picked in a two-year study as possible locations for a saltwater desalination plant, similar to the one that opened last year in freshwater-starved Tampa.
The potential sites include JEA's Northside Generating Station in Jacksonville and others as far south as Cape Canaveral, closer to Orlando, where supplies are running driest among areas in the 18-county district.
"Groundwater cannot meet our future projected needs, so we're looking for alternatives," said Glenn Forrest, project manager. His district estimates water use will increase 50 percent by 2025 to 2 billion gallons a day.
Levels within the abundant Floridan aquifer -- one of the United State's largest natural freshwater supplies -- would drop as much as 10 feet around Orlando, and in parts of Duval, St. Johns and Flagler counties. One adverse affect is chloride concentrations reaching unacceptable levels in public supplies in these areas.
Public support and economics are likely the keys for how shortfalls will be addressed, Forrest said. Desalinated water costs two to four times as much as that pumped from the ground. Study consultant R.W. Beck Inc. selected sites and estimated the cost of building plants and producing salt-free water at each site. It envisioned a plant such as Tampa's near a saltwater body, and adjacent to a power station, preferably one that already pumps in seawater to cool turbines.
The report pegged cost of construction at JEA's Northside plant slightly higher than most at $84.7 million to $202.4 million, depending on whether it would be a 10-, 20- or 30-million-gallon-a-day plant. By comparison, the least expensive was Indian River Power Plant, estimated at $74.7 million to $193.9 million.
But the cost of producing water at the JEA site, which uses a billion gallons of cooling seawater a day, ranked competitively at $2.57 to $3.12 per thousand gallons, compared to $2.63 to $3.06 at Cape Canaveral Power Plant.
JEA Water Director Scott Kelly said the utility does not have an immediate interest after alleviating a Southside water crunch by shipping in Northside water through a new pipe built under the river near Alltel Stadium.
Jacksonville will further ease looming shortages as it increases customers' use of reclaimed water, he said. JEA set a goal of increasing reclaimed water use from 2 million gallons a day to 9 million gallons a day by 2007.
The district is on the right path, said state Sen. Nancy Argenziano, a Republican on the Natural Resources Committee, whose district includes areas where aquifer levels would dip drastically.
New $66 million purification system for Boca Raton
Residents here will soon be drinking tap water processed through a new $66 million purification system that will turn water from a yellowish tint to crystal clear. Unlike the current system, which uses a heavy dose of chemical treatment, the new plant will purify water primarily through filters.
Boca Raton officials for years talked about building a new plant that would clean water through a process known as reverse osmosis. The city council approved building the new plant in 1999. Two years after that decision, the council approved borrowing $25 million in bonds to help pay for the project.
But you won't be hearing much about reverse osmosis any more. These days, the preferred term is "membrane softening." The filters are made of membranes with tiny perforations.
"We're talking bacteria-sized holes," said Boca Raton Utilities Director Michael Woika.
The filtration process has been perfected in the past decade and is becoming increasingly affordable for local governments. In Palm Beach County, eight of 27 municipalities use some type of membrane softening to purify drinking water.
"It's a technology whose time has come," said Ed Baruth, chief engineer for the American Water Works Association, a trade group in Denver.
The city built the new plant to comply with tougher water standards adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency that go into effect this year. The clearer water will not taste different from the drinking water being produced now, Woika said.
Boca Raton's current system extracts water from 56 wells and injects lime, polymers, chlorine, carbon dioxide and more chlorine. The water passes through a filter of sand and gravel. The new system is expected to start operating within three weeks. It will be phased in over six months, Woika said. The water is pumped through three sets of increasingly fine filters. Ammonia and chlorine are added at the end of the process. The third and finest set of filters has 7,600 membranes that look like a roll of paper towel encased in chrome capsules and cost $4.5 million. The membranes will have to be replaced in about 10 years.
"This is the meat of the process," Woika said. "It's got that kind-of brewery look, doesn't it?"
Boca Raton's old water plant is not being shut down. The city will blend water from the old and new plants because the ultra-pure water from the new plant could corrode water pipes, Woika said.
Project Title: University of Florida
Revision Date: 2/1/2004
Entry Date: 5/1/1999
Startup Date: 2001
Expansion Date: 2004
Country: FL
City: Gainesville
Size: 325,000 sq. ft. Genetics and Cancer Research Facility
Product: research and training
Address:
Telephone:
SIC Description: University
Description:
VOA Associates has been commissioned to provide architectural services
for the new 154,800 sq. ft. health professions, nursing and pharmacy complex at
the University of Florida. State-of-the-art teaching facilities and laboratories
will be included as well as office space. Estimated construction costs are $21.7
million. **As of February 2004, Turner is providing preconstruction and
construction management services for this 325,000 sq. ft. facility, which
includes research, training and administration operation space for the Genetics
Institute and Cancer Research Center.
Contractor: Turner Construction
No semiconductor, flat panel displays, pharmaceutical, disk drive, or animal research projects were reported for Florida this month.
Florida Files Eco-Lawsuit over Defunct Refinery
The state of
Florida said it filed a lawsuit January 15 to recover more than $12 million in
environmental cleanup costs from the operators of the now defunct St Marks
refinery.
The state's Department of Environmental
Protection said the suit filed with the Leon County Circuit Court against
American International Petroleum Corp. <AIPN.PK>, St Marks Refinery Inc. and
Seminole Refining Corp. also sought to impose penalties for environmental
violations.
"The companies that caused the pollution
should pay for the clean up, not Florida's taxpayers," the department secretary,
David Struhs, said in a statement.
The authorities
said that asphalt, pentachlorophenol and petroleum products were stored at the
site in northern Florida for half a century, and oil lagoons and tar pits had
contaminated a nearby river, wetlands and soils.
McIlvaine has a monthly report on new refineries and upgrades. More than 20 pages of project information is provided. However Florida is not an active area in this sector.
No oil and gas drilling or transport projects were reported in February 2004. However more than 30 new projects were reported in the monthly Oil and Gas Updates