FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 26, 2014
DEP PROVIDES $750,000 GRANT FOR
HARDEE COUNTY REGIONAL WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENT
WAUCHULA
HILLS – After identifying a nitrate
problem in the Wauchula Hills area in 2000, Florida has invested more than $9
million to help correct this issue. The Florida Department of Environmental
Protection is now providing $750,000 to complete phase three of the wastewater service-improvement plan for this area.
“This project is an
important step in fixing the ongoing nitrate problem we’ve been attacking over
the last few years to eradicate,” said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. “This
area is critical for the health of the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor.”
“I am in support of
this project and the benefits it will bring to those residents of Wauchula,” said
Senator Bill Galvano.
“Our citizens of Hardee
County are very thankful for the support of the legislature, the DEP, and our Governor
in funding this project,” said Representative Ben Albritton. “I personally
appreciate the great job Governor Rick Scott has done.”
Phase three of the
improvement plan will involve installing more than 10,000 feet of sewer lines
and associated manholes to connect more than 80 homes to the wastewater
facility. These 80 homes are within a department-designated area of especially
high nitrates, and the connection to the sewer system will alleviate the
nitrate problem.
The initial phase of
this project involved a feasibility study, which identified 400–600 homes in
the area that were being affected by the nitrate problem. During phase two,
some of these homes were tied in to the Hardee County Regional Wastewater Facility.
This area is especially
important due to its proximity to the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor. In
2007, DEP, in partnership with the Southwest Florida Water Management District
and a stakeholder group of representatives from local governments, regional water
suppliers, regional planning councils and others, developed a basin resource
management plan to address cumulative impacts to the Peace River Basin. This
restoration plan included adopting and implementing pollution loading limits to
protect and restore water quality in the Peace River Basin. The Peace River is
becoming an increasingly important water supply and the quality of that water
will only improve with the proliferation of municipal sewer service in this
region.
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