Mandated DeBary looking to swap septic tanks for vacuum sewer system

Experts will recommend to DeBary City Council on Wednesday the best route to remove 2,300 septic tanks as requested by the state due to their adverse effects on Gemini Springs.

Local officials say they hope the state will pay the lion’s share of the mandate, which could take 20 years and more than $ 50 million, but affected homeowners are likely to pay about $ 5,000 through an ad valorem valuation have to.

Unfortunately, while the preferred cost to local residents would be zero, officials say that scenario is not an option.

“If we don’t do anything, they’ll have to upgrade at some point [their septic systems] and have their own private system at a very high cost based on what we currently know, “said Mike Ulrich, director of water resources and utilities for Volusia County, last week.

Rescue of the feathers:As soon as clean water is slowly suffocated by high levels of nitrogen from septic tanks

These systems can cost anywhere from $ 15,000 to $ 17,000 to install, and annual inspection and maintenance costs can range from $ 250 to $ 1,500, officials say.

After holding workshops and collecting feedback from local residents over the past few months, local officials say the plans will include gradually dismantling the septic tanks and installing a vacuum sewer system, also called a pneumatic sewer system.

Negative pressure sewer systems “conduct the wastewater with negative pressure from the point of origin to the sewage treatment plant”, according to a report by the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB. Vacuum pumps generate pressure that “draws in atmospheric air through special air inlets at the sewage collection points”.

These systems, which have been used in South Florida for several years, have less of a structural impact on residents than other options, said Terri Lowery, senior vice president of Jones Edmunds, an engineering and consulting firm. They also do not create any complaints about odor or noise.

Lowery, who is working on the plans with DeBary and Volusia Counties, said vacuum sewer systems are becoming increasingly popular, especially as the need to retrofit septic tanks has increased.

“New conventional sewage treatment plants are not allowed in the priority priority area on lots less than 1 acre, and you have over 2,000 affected parcels in your community,” Lowery told DeBary City Council last month during a workshop. “And so there has to be a plan for these existing wastewater treatment plants to find an alternative to nitrogen reduction, be it a decentralized or a centralized system.”

The Department of Environmental Protection defines the priority focus areas as “vulnerable areas where sources of pollution due to proximity to a source and permeable” pose the greatest risk [sandy] Soil conditions. “Due to the vulnerability of these areas and the damage that several state sources have already suffered, new sewage treatment plants are not permitted in these areas.

A centralized system would work best because it is the most cost effective and reliable in the long run, Lowery said. Another reason is that aerobic treatment units, which are similar to traditional sewage treatment plants, are usually too expensive for the individual homeowner and do not reduce nutrient loads sufficiently as the state requires.

Required Remedy

In 2016, legislature identified in its Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act 30 “Outstanding Florida Springs”; This led to plans to reduce excessive levels of nitrate in the springs. Twenty-four of these springs, including three in Volusia County, were affected by the pollution.

Read:Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act

The current nutrient load in Gemini Springs is about 20,496 pounds per year, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. Urban lawn fertilizers make up 46% and sewage treatment plants make up 41%.

And the nitrogen that pollutes the springs seeps into the groundwater, the main source of drinking water.

Other contributors are: 5% atmospheric deposition; 4% sports turf fertilizer; 3% sewage treatment plant; 1% agricultural fertilizer; and 0.1% livestock waste under the Gemini Springs Basin Management Action Plan.

The Springs and Aquifer Protection Act requires BMAPs, as they are commonly known, to ensure that the pollutant levels in the sources are below the specified maximum daily total loads. It is also necessary to develop strategies to ensure that the water levels of the springs do not fall below the minimum established values.

Orange City is famous for meeting manatees in the winter at Blue Spring State Park.

There are approximately 90,000-100,000 septic tanks in Volusia County. About 50,000 of these tanks, each contributing approximately 8.2 pounds of nitrogen, are within BMAP limits.

The Department of Environmental Protection plans to remove 14,270 pounds of this nutrient load in Gemini Springs by 2038.

“A lot of people think it’s just leaky septic tanks, but it really isn’t,” said Ulrich. “Even a properly functioning septic tank system still produces ammonia.”

A plan for DeLeon Springs is also in the works, and a plan for Blue Spring could be initiated next year, Ulrich said.

The fertilizer dilemma

When it comes to fertilizer, the municipalities can only do something limited, said Ulrich.

“It’s difficult to get through,” said Ulrich.

DeBary acted on a city council-approved ordinance on the fertilizer issue in 2017.

Education about the regulation is ongoing, said Carmen Rosamonda, city manager at DeBary.

“Until the state orders that certain fertilizers cannot be sold in Florida, we can educate our residents about how to obtain our sources,” said Shari Simmans, DeBary’s director of economic development, communications and government affairs.

The ordinance states that no fertilizer may be used in the summer from June to September.

Read:DeBary’s Ordinance on the Use of Fertilizers

The regulation also states:

  • Fertilizer applied from October to May must contain at least 50% slow release nitrogen.
  • Do not apply phosphorus to your lawn without a soil sample.
  • Manure must be kept at least 15 feet from any body of water.
  • Nitrogen or phosphorus fertilizers must not be applied before sowing or sowing a site and during the first 30 days after sowing or sowing.

The Volusia County Fertilizer Ordinance, approved by the Council in 2014, contains the same provisions.

In addition to initiating a program to educate residents about the correct use of fertilizers, information is included in the city’s newsletter, which residents receive quarterly, said Rosamonda.

Women lead their dogs on one of the boardwalks above Gemini Springs in DeBary.  The state found that urban lawn manure and septic tanks brought too much nitrogen into the spring.

City officials and lawmakers are also discussing potentially banning the sale of certain fertilizers in Florida, Rosamonda said.

The summer fertilizer ban applied by communities across Florida coincides with the state’s rainy season, as excessive rainfall can cause fertilizer to wash down streams and ditches, and ultimately into springs.

This can lead to seaweed-killing algae blooms.

A manatee approaches the surface of the water in Blue Spring.

And manatees that feed on seaweed are starving at record rates, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The excess nutrients from the manure runoff can also cause fish to die.

State expectations

Ulrich said his goal is to finalize the Gemini Springs Sewage Feasibility Study report by the end of September and submit it to the Department of Environment. He hopes to start designing early next fiscal year.

Reports of Gemini and DeLeon Springs were originally dated Jan.

Once the plans are approved, local officials can look for grants to help keep homeowner costs to a minimum.

“All available grants are being pursued but none are guaranteed,” said Tony Hairston, vice president of Raftelis, a consultancy to local governments and utilities, during the July 14 workshop.

Before the workshop, the parties had hoped to add water pipes, but officials say they haven’t got enough interest from affected local residents who work with well water.

If water pipes were included, the projected cost to local residents would rise to about $ 15,000, Ulrich said.

Community buy-in is one factor the state considers when considering grant applications, Lowery said. Local financial commitment is also taken into account.

In a previous workshop, local resident Herb Reed, who lives in the focal area, suggested that every resident should bear the cost since urban lawn manure is the largest source of nutrients and figuring out which residents to point at is not really feasible.

“You should have some kind of skin in the game, I think,” said Reed.

Rosamonda said the goal is to look after those 2,300 homes within five years, but that will depend on funding.

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