Charlotte County receives state funding for reclaimed water expansion project

Charlotte County has received notice that $500,000 of the State of Florida’s budget will be allocated to the Charlotte County Regional Reclaimed Water Expansion Phase 2 project. Once complete, the $3,626,488 project will connect the Central County reclaimed water transmission system with the West Port Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) and ultimately provide an interconnection of the three WRF’s in Mid and West County, including East Port WRF, West Port WRF and Rotonda WRF.

The project provides the ability to move, store and pump reclaimed water to areas of high demand, therefore, greatly reducing the demand on potable water and ground water supplies currently being used for irrigation. Reclaimed water is an environmentally beneficial solution to reduce nutrient loading, help offset future water supply needs and provide for long-term growth in Charlotte County.

The remaining funds will be provided by the Southwest Florida Water Management District ($1,314,550), the Florida Water Projection Sustainability Trust Fund ($170,900), and Charlotte County ($1,641,038). Expected completion is the end of 2013.

The project made its way into the Legislature’s final budget due to the support and efforts of Rep. Ken Roberson and Sens. Lizbeth Benacquisto, Nancy Detert, and Bill Galvano.