Help our sewer system by temporarily reducing your water usage.

As some of you may know, during heavy rain events in South Florida, standing water not only creates issues for roadways, traffic and storm drains, it also could have a direct impact on your Sanitary Sewer System. This is not to be confused with your city’s potable water system as this is a closed pressurized system not open to the elements. Should there ever be issues regarding your drinking water, you would be notified through several sources including your local news stations under a Boil Water Notice. Please note that Utilities, specifically Plantation, spend millions of dollars per year upgrading and rehabilitating their sewer systems to prevent infiltration and it is an ongoing process.

While your sanitary sewer system is not technically an open system, standing water does find its way into the system during extreme flooding and standing water events. This is called infiltration and is a common occurrence experienced by the entire industry. During heavy rain events, the standing water seeps into the sanitary sewer systems through private clean-outs, manholes located in the street and in some cases through main lines and laterals located underground. During these events, it is also not uncommon to experience millions of gallons of additional flow per day entering the collection and the treatment facility.

How the Public can assist during these extreme conditions is to reduce their water consumption where possible. Several ways to reduce flow are, shorter showers, larger or less frequent washing machine loads, minimal toilet flushing when possible or even turning the water off while you brush your teeth. Please keep in mind, we are only asking this when extreme weather conditions occur however, the overall end result would be additional savings on your monthly water bill due to reduced consumption and less water entering the sanitary sewer system.

Should you ever have any questions or concerns regarding Plantation Utilities, please contact us at Plantation Utilities Department 954-797-2290 and follow the prompts or visit us at Plantation.org.