By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Chiefland and its engineering firm have filed for a $17 million grant to upgrade its sewer treatment system to an Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant and double plant capacity to 1 million gallons per day.

            The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has issued an administrative order requiring the city to cut the amount of nitrogen in half discharged by the current plant by June 1, 2026.

             Greg Lang, vice president of community development for Mittaurer & Associates Inc, the city’s consulting engineer, told Chiefland City Commissioners Monday the city is located in a designated springs-protection area and has a good chance of receiving state funding.

            Chiefland, Fanning Springs, and Trenton lie within the Fanning – Manatee Springshed.

            The Lower Suwannee River Basin area includes Manatee Springs on the west side of Chiefland and Fanning Springs 10 miles north of Chiefland.

            The Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act provides for protection and restoration of Outstanding Florida Springs. The statute requires a reduction of nitrogen flowing into the aquifer by 556,000 pounds per year for the next five years and 1.8 million pounds of nitrogen per year within 20 years.

            Manatee Springs and Fanning Springs are both state parks. The bottoms of the spring runs are coated with a layer of green algae resulting from heavy concentrations of nitrogen in the water. Septic tanks are one of the sources of nitrogen, farming is another, as well as city treatment plants.

            Chiefland is located within the Fanning Manatee Priority Focus Area which means the sewer plant project is considered a high priority to be funded by the Florida Legislature in the March session this year.

            Lang said there are no absolute guarantees of funding, but he thinks the city’s chances are good. He said if funding is authorized by the Legislature, he estimated it would take 2 ½ to 3 years to construct the advanced treatment plant in south Chiefland.

            Lang said there is money in the grant package to purchase additional land next door to the existing plant, but the primary plan is to upgrade the existing sewer treatment plant to an advanced treatment facility to reduce nitrogen output.

            He added that city Sewer Superintendent Randy Wilkerson has done a good job of operating the plant and keeping nitrogen levels in check, but he said the plant will have to be upgraded to an advanced treatment facility to achieve the nitrogen and phosphorus reductions needed to meet state guidelines.

            Lang said Mittauer worked with staff on determining if a second plant should be constructed on the north end of the city to handle expected growth but rejected that idea because of the additional construction and operating costs and the doubling of employees to operate it and maintain it. There are no grant dollars to pay for operating and maintenance costs. The city would bear that burden.

            The sewer treatment plant will be expanded and upgraded before a different phase of the project would begin involving construction of a proposed 12-inch diameter force main to handle additional flow from north Chiefland as growth occurs.

            As part of the force main proposal, Lang said he believes it would be feasible to extend the 12-inch city force main around the edge of the city to give the remaining Chiefland residents central sewer and extend the force main west to Manatee Springs Park. He said Springside Adult Mobile Home Park and Hideaway Adult Mobile Home Park as well as Chiefland Golf and Country Club could be added to the sewer main as well an RV resort on the northern end of town.

            The city commission has talked about potentially bringing multiple residential neighborhoods located along Manatee Springs Road into the city, but City Attorney Blake Fugate said the city would have to annex those subdivisions to be able to extend city sewer to them unless the city could work out some type of interlocal agreement with the county to require hookup to the city sewer plant.

            Lang said the fact that there are so many subdivisions along Manatee Springs Road might make it financially feasible to extend lateral sewer lines out to residents currently using septic tanks, but he said that would be a community decision on whether to go in that direction.

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City of Chiefland Regular Meeting February 27, 2023; Posted February 28, 2023