Areas of Florida Where Septic Systems Are Causing Problems
There are over 3 million septic systems in Florida and, for the most part, these sewage treatment and disposal systems are “a safe and effective means of wastewater disposal for 30 percent of Florida’s population,” according the states’s Department of Health. The DOH says Florida accounts for 12% of all septic systems in the U.S. today.
The septic system challenge for homeowners, business owners and local governments where these systems are installed is most prevalent in low-lying, coastal areas of the state where we are seeing more rising levels of salt water, nitrogen and other pollutants.
For homeowners, the cost to convert from septic systems to city sewage can cost tens of thousands of dollars. And local city and county governments where these systems are concentrated are looking at potentially billions of dollars of infrastructure improvements and right of way purchases from existing landowners.
Soaring Cost to Address Leaking Septic Tanks in Florida
An article this week in Digital Journal shines the septic spotlight on one of Miami’s most exclusive neighborhoods where leaking septic systems are a growing concern. An estimated 7,000 homes and businesses in Coral Gables have on septic systems.
Norberto Borgeat, Master Plumber and Owner of Eco 1 Plumbing of Miami says the problem lies in gradually rising sea levels which are pushing salt water further inland to neighborhoods like Coral Gables, Coconut Grove and Kendall.
“As sea levels rise, we need a foot of difference between the elevation of fresh and sea water to make sure salt water doesn’t move inland, but septic systems were not designed with the assumption that groundwater levels would rise gradually over time,” says Borgeat.
The costs are staggering considering that Miami-Dade has spent over $1 billion on new water and sewer lines in recent years with an estimated $4 billion more needed to convert all of the county’s septic tanks to city sewer systems, according to this Fortune article.
Which Florida Counties Have The Most Septic Systems
Miami-Dade County tops the list of Florida counties with septic systems, according to this News Journal article. Miami Dade’s 216,000 septic systems gave the county the number one ranking followed by Lee County with over 133,000 septic tanks.
Lee County in Southwest Florida is one of the two brown counties you see in the map above. Interestingly, the other brown county issuing the highest number of septic tank permits over the five-year period from 2014-2018 was Marion County.
A map of Florida wastewater disposal methods confirms the high concentration of septic tanks in Marion County as well as in the inland portions of most coastal counties.
According to IFAS, “Legislation that became effective in 2017 requires many conventional septic systems to be replaced with alternative nitrogen-removing OSTDS technology in many of the state’s springsheds and several coastal communities have begun attempts to enact similar legislation or to remove all septic systems entirely.”
Marion County is one of those counties where local officials are spending millions to advance the conversion of more homes from septic systems to sewers to help protect Florida aquifers and springs which are all fed by groundwater. At an estimated cost of $30,000 per household, Marion County tapped federal funds in 2022 to cover all initial costs to property owners.
Florida Developers Connecting New Communities to County Systems
Just as residential development pushes further inland on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, the same trend can be seen on the Gulf Coast where developers of new communities want to connect these homes to county water and sewer.
Lee County was in the headlines last month when county officials approved building a sewer connection to a new residential development in the formerly rural farming and cattle town of Alva.
“Connecting to Lee County water and sewer will be beneficial for natural resources in the area. It better protects the aquifers as opposed to 788 individual septic systems,”a spokesman for Neal Communities said in the public hearing, according to this Fox 4 report.
In Central Florida, NVR Homes recently entered into an agreement with the City of Leesburg for the construction of a major sewer bypass system along U.S. 27 that will deliver wastewater to the Turnpike Wastewater Treatment Facility.
NVR Homes will build the bypass system at an estimated cost of $15 million, and the City will own and operate the system upon completion. NVR plans to develop a 1,700-home subdivision along U.S. 27 and connect all of the homes to the new system, according to this Leesburg News article.
Contact CII Today
If you own an established plumbing or other home service business in Florida or Georgia and would like to get a better understanding of the current market value of your company and steps you can take today to maximize that value, get in touch with a CII business advisor today.