FPUA OKs fourth amendment for island-to-mainland wastewater shift | St. Lucie County

FORT PIERCE — The Fort Pierce Utilities Authority Board on Nov. 18 unanimously approved the fourth amendment to Phase 2 of its wastewater conveyance project, advancing plans to redirect flows from the South Hutchinson Island treatment facility to the new mainland plant under construction off Glades Cut Off Road.

Water/Wastewater Supervising Engineer Lugey Dawson began the presentation that evening with a review of the new plant’s current progress, as well as detailing the different wastewater redirection phases either under construction, in the design stages or already completed.

“We’ll be presenting a conveyance system update for you [and] provide updates on some of our other projects,” he said. “We’ll talk about the phased contract structure of the conveyance work and what we’ll perceive in the future. We’ll go over the master plan briefly and look at some of the specific projects in Phase 1A, the first phase of the conveyance system.”

Dawson then briefly described the new wastewater treatment plant going up next to the Treasure Coast Energy Center that’s slated for completion next January.

“At any given time, there could be up to 100 different staff members out there working on 20 different structures,” he continued. “The other part of this is to redirect wastewater flow from the existing island treatment facility to this facility, which is at the opposite end of our service territory. As far our conveyance contract structure, the master agreement was a progressive design build where we procured an engineering group along with a design team at the same time. This allows us to move seamlessly from phase to phase. This agreement was approved back in 2023 and included the preliminary design report, which serves as a road map.”

Dawson proceeded to describe the previous amendments to the wastewater conveyance redirection, whose fourth amendment for a $5.3 million booster station near Moore’s Creek was before the Board that day.

“Amendment 1 was the detailed engineering for Phase 1A and was approved in 2024,” he explained. “Amendment 2 was the first construction project of Phase 1A [$5.4 million] approved on Feb. 18, 2025. This is the Jenkins Road force main from Okeechobee Road to Edwards Road. This has now been completed. Amendment 3 was the A.E. Backus construction of the force main and upgrades to Lift Station E. This project is currently under construction.”

Dawson then turned the floor over to Principal Engineer John Biggs, who began with financial details on the request.

“This is amendment 4 to the master contract for a total guaranteed maximum price of $5.38 million, which includes allowances of $75,000,” he said. “We’re also seeking approval for $150,000 for FPUA contingency [and] authorization to approve change-orders up to $50,000. Board approval will allocate $5.5 million, which is available in the Fiscal Year 26 capital budget.”

Biggs emphasized the need for the booster station due to the great distance between the new plant and an existing lift station near Downtown Fort Pierce.

“The booster station will be approximately 1,600 square feet consisting of a pump room and electrical room,” he explained. “There will be three pumps and a generator, and we’ll be installing a security fence for the property. The color scheme for the building will match the Jaycee Park Pump Station as well as the new wastewater treatment plant. The funding is through a line of credit and is fully reimbursable by a Department of Environmental Protection grant.”

Mayor Linda Hudson was the first FPUA member to pose clarification questions afterward.

“You keep calling it Moore’s Creek, so what’s the cross street?” she asked.

“It’s near Moore’s Creek between 25th and 24th streets,” Biggs replied.

“So, will there be disruption of the creek or traffic?” Mayor Hudson continued.

“No, the work will be done in the right of way because we have an existing force main we’re connecting to,” Biggs answered. “It’s located in the right of way but not affecting the creek.”

FPUA Director Javier Cisneros then chimed in with his own perspective, lauding the teamwork on a complex project that he emphasized actually began many years prior.

“We’re talking about the last four years, but we’re really talking about the last 20 years,” he said. “Building a wastewater plant – a state-of-the-art facility – is complex, but it’s fun. It’s a very controlled environment. Building a conveyance system is complex, but not as much fun. Mr. Biggs and Mr. Dawson and their entire team make it look easy – they’re doing a great job.”

For her part, Board Member Kristina Gibbons expressed financial concerns.

“This is the first ask for this piece of the puzzle, correct?” she asked. “Does this fit within the budget that we were expecting it to?”

Dawson tackled that inquiry.

“Correct,” Dawson replied. “The original budget for this particular station was $4.7 million, and this turned out to be $5.3 a couple years later. Things are just increasing, so it’s to be expected.”

Upon further questioning by Gibbons, Dawson confirmed the $5.3 million cost would be covered by one of the DEP grants awarded for wastewater redirection.

“That’s going to be coming from this $28 million of Resilient Florida” he explained.

“It seems like they’ve been returning our money pretty quickly,” Board Member Gibbons responded.

“Yes ma’am, I must say it’s a lot of fun like Mr. Cisneros said,” he retorted, returning the director’s tongue-in-check comment. “A lot of late nights, but it’s fun and it’s all worth it in the end.”

Mayor Hudson then questioned Dawson about the force main work along Jenkins Road, whose second phase in collaboration with the North St. Lucie Water Control District from Edwards Road to the new reclamation facility is still in the design stage.

“You’ve finished the first part of Jenkins Road, right, and you’ve got your sign-off for that?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am,” Dawson responded. “The road is now open and traversal.”

“Wonderful, because that was a big job,” Hudson added. “And now this is going to be a big job too, right?”

“Yes ma’am,” Dawson said, “but like Mr. Cisneros said, it’s fun.”

As laughter broke out on the dais, Cisneros chimed back in.

“Oh boy, I think I’m going to hear that for a long time,” he said as the laughter continued.

After subsequent clarification from FPUA Public affairs and Sustainability Director Rachel Tennant on grant and appropriations reimbursements, the FPUA Board voted unanimously to approve the fourth amendment.