Wastewater Utility Department

Description:
The Wastewater plant operates as an advanced wastewater treatment facility which is required tomeet the new stringent total nitrogenlevels required by the Florida Department of EnvironmentalProtection. The plant recently completed an upgrade in 2018 to meet the new advanced treatmentrequirements. The facility is approved for a total capacity of 340,000 gallons per day. The currentaverage daily flow is 218,000 gallons per day. The process requires disinfection and removal ofexcess water content from the sewage for final proper disposal of biosolids (sludge). The time tocomplete the full cycle for incoming sewage is less than 24 hours. The water that is processed ispartially recycled for irrigation use in the City’s golf course and the grounds around City Hall. TheCity maintains a reclaimed water facility within the wastewater plant area. This reclaimed wateris produced as a benefit to the city to conserve the critical use of potable water,andto help reduce overall costs for the City for irrigation. The plant currently produces 1,000,000 gallons per monthof reclaimed water for use as irrigation. Since the startup of the reclaimed water portion of thefacility in 2002, the facility has recycled over 73,000,000 gallons of water. This reclaimed wateris safe for use in irrigation and is tested on a regular basis to meet the state’s stringent requirementsfor safe use. The remainingprocessed water is deposited through environmentally approvedinjection wells. The final biosolid that is produced is deposited through an approved biosolidtreatment facility in South Florida. The wastewater plant is managed through a contracted firm andreports status to the Utility Boardmonthly.The stormwater system is maintained to support the proper disposal of water runoff from excessrain. Stormwater drains and wells are maintained by the Utility Board and the City employees forthe benefit of the City. The Utility Board works with the State of Florida to help protect theoffshore water quality of the canals and the ocean for the Florida Keys. The stormwater system ismade up of road swales, stormwater drains, a dry retention pond, and injection wells. The purposeof the system is to dissipate excess rainwater through environmentally filtering, for water removalfrom the road system is a method not to disturb the water quality in the City’s canals and oceanareas. The stormwater system is governedby the State of Florida through approved permits to theCity of Key Colony Beach .