Mucarsel-Powell Announces Critical $235 Million Water Infrastructure Loan For Miami-Dade County

Press Release

Today, U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), Vice Chair of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, announced a new $235 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Miami-Dade County to help finance improvements and expansion of wastewater treatment facilities.

"This funding is crucial for South Florida's water quality because for too long, our community has dealt with sewage flowing freely into our coastal waters, damaging our delicate ecosystem, endangering public health, and harming our tourism industry. As Vice Chair of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, I am fighting every day to secure funds necessary to upgrade our failing water infrastructure and create jobs," said Mucarsel-Powell. "Today's grant announcement is an important step, but we still have a long way to go, and I will continue to push for investments that fix our broken water systems and improve our environment, quality of life, and local economy."

Funding provided under this WIFIA loan will finance upgrades at the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD)'s three wastewater treatment plants. Collectively, the upgrades will add system-wide capacity flexibility, assist in fulfilling state and federal requirements, as well as contribute to the wastewater treatment plants being more robust, resilient facilities that allow for continuous operation during severe weather events.

WASD's South District Wastewater Treatment Plant (SDWWTP) Expansion will increase the permitted treatment capacity from 112.5 million gallons per day (MGD) to 131 MGD annual average daily flow and increase the peak hourly flow capacity of the facility. The department will also construct new municipal injection wells at the North and Central District Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs), which will help fulfill requirements of the state of Florida's Ocean Outfall Legislation. The wastewater conveyance system to the three wastewater plants is interconnected, so flow can be directed between WWTPs to allow for operational flexibility. By increasing capacity at SDWWTP, service for the whole regional system improves.

The South District Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion and North and Central District Injection Wells Project will cost $480 million. EPA's WIFIA loan will finance nearly half of that figure--up to $235 million. Additionally, the project will be financed by the Florida Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

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