Wastewater / Stormwater Partnership
The Wastewater / Stormwater Partnership members delivered their
annual progress report to the Steering Committee on
Thursday, May 27, 2021.
Watch the presentation
The Wastewater / Stormwater Partnership is a joint initiative of the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, Pinellas County municipalities, and other agencies to identify wastewater and stormwater solutions for the County. Formed in October 2016, the Partnership is comprised of state and county officials, 17 municipal leaders, seven local agency leaders, and three private utility systems, as well as staff representatives who serve on a Technical Working Group.
In response to common goals established at the first Partnership meeting, the Technical Working Group presented an initial action plan in January. The action plan analyzed the events that led to the overflow situation during Hurricane Hermine and recommended approaches to avoiding future sanitary sewer overflows, including:
- Increasing wastewater treatment capacity at appropriate levels
- Increasing wastewater storage capacity at appropriate levels
- Reducing inflow and infiltration of stormwater and groundwater into the separate sanitary sewer system
The Technical Working Group’s recommendation merged the three solutions into a cohesive plan of action to reduce the greatest cause of inundation of the system—inflow and infiltration of stormwater and groundwater into the sanitary sewer system—at the same time, incrementally increasing treatment capacity and/or storage capacity where applicable or appropriate. Additionally, the Technical Working Group recommended implementing a countywide public dialogue program to increase education outreach and citizen engagement.
Leaders and staff will continue to meet regularly and track progress of the various joint initiatives.
Partnership and Technical Working Group Members
Partnership Goals and Opportunities:
- Avoid and mitigate spills, overflows, and releases of sewage into the environment, particularly water bodies
- Increase capacity and resiliency of collective sewer system and wastewater treatment infrastructure
- Seek opportunities to address drainage and stormwater issues that impact the sewer system
Resources:
- Watersheds and Municipal Boundaries Map
- County, City, and Private Sewer Systems Ownership Map
- 2019 CIP Preview
- Action Plan Progress Update - May 2018
- Kick-Off Meeting held - October 2016
- County Commission leads call for task force - September 2016