Brevard County South Central Regional Treatment Facility Expanding To Meet Increased Demand
By Brevard County // June 23, 2017
$42 million expansion will double capacity
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Work that will double the size of Brevard County’s South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility, and accommodate a wealth of development and growth in the area of Viera, Suntree and a portion of West Cocoa, is underway and targeted for completion by December 2018.
The $42 million expansion will double the current six million gallons-per-day capacity at the plant.
To date, the contractor has completed the Reuse Storage Tank. Work continues on the Maintenance Building, Clarifiers 5 and 6, Belt Filter Press, Reclaimed Water High Service Pump Station, Chlorine Contact Chamber, and the Sludge Holding Tank.
Work has also begun on the Pretreatment Structure. Whenever the soil pre-loading settlement has reached maximum density, the contractor will start work for a new Biological Nutrient Reduction structure that is an essential part of the treatment facility.
The area around the plant is one of the fastest growing development areas in the county. Modern day development trends and growing demand on the infrastructure prompted expansion needs.
The South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, located at 10001 N. Wickham Road in Viera, opened in the early 1990s with a maximum capacity to treat 3 million gallons per day of domestic wastewater.
However, the number of residential units began to grow. Major development companies, including Suntree Partners, the Coy A. Clark Company, (Baytree properties, among others), and the Viera Company, realized the opportunity to create new residential and commercial properties that would be served by the public sewer system.
As development activity began ramping up, it gradually became clear that the design threshold of 3 million gallons per day capacity would be inadequate even before the original planning expectation. The plant was nearing maximum capacity much sooner than originally expected.
Today’s expansion isn’t the first to accommodate a growing residential population. In 1997, designs were in place to expand the South Central Plant’s capacity from 3 million gallons per day to 5.5 million gallons. The construction of this first treatment plant expansion started on June 15, 1998, with final completion accomplished in the latter half of the year 2000.
With the South Central Regional Service Area experiencing what was probably the greatest rate of growth in all of Brevard County, it became increasingly obvious that the newest expansion might not last until a full treatment plant expansion could be funded, designed, and built.
The rate of new sewer connections pushed the Utilities Department to look for another way to maximize the existing treatment systems. In February 2014, an additional effort to expand capabilities at the plant involved a retrofit of the aeration system that helped the plant operate at permitted capacity.
The latest improvements, now underway, will double treatment capacity to 12 million gallons per day. The work started on August 22, 2016, with the construction deadline currently set for December 2018. By the end of April, 2017, the work was approximately 18% complete and on schedule.
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