Jones Edmunds was featured in the Florida Specifier in an article regarding DeBary Septic-to-Sewer Conversion.

Read the entire article below.

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By Roy Laughlin | Florida Specifier

In early August, the DeBary City Council approved its Gemini Springs Wastewater Treatment Feasibility Analysis Report.

The feasibility report recommended a decades-long phase septic to sewer conversion involving a total of 2,300 septic tanks. In addition, the plan called for the construction of a vacuum sewer system over a 20-year period. The current cost estimate is $50 million.

The consulting firm of Jones Edmunds & Associates, Inc. prepared the report for Volusia County’s Water Resources and Utilities Department, and the city government.

The primary purpose of the conversion effort is to reduce nitrogen levels in the groundwater feeding Gemini Springs, designated as an outstanding Florida spring in the 2016 Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act.

Currently, nitrogen loading to Gemini Springs is 20,496 pounds annually. About 46 percent comes from fertilizers, and septic systems account for about 41 percent.

According to DEP calculations, more than 14,000 pounds of nitrogen need to be removed from the groundwater feeding Gemini Springs by 2038 in order to meet the outstanding Florida Springs water quality targets. DeBary residents will face a connection fee to the sewage system of approximately $5,000.

City officials are hoping to obtain grant funding to help defray the $50 million cost of construction. Construction will begin as soon as DEP approves the plan.

Engineering and design, the first component of the effort, will require up to 18 months. Groundbreaking for the project could occur in 2023.