{"id":308591,"date":"2026-06-16T00:27:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T00:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/308591\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T00:27:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T00:27:11","slug":"apopka-city-commission-to-hear-update-on-crippled-golden-gem-facility-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/308591\/","title":{"rendered":"Apopka City Commission to hear update on\u00a0crippled\u00a0Golden Gem facility\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Officials will go over the most recent projects for improvements to the\u00a0roughly 350-million-gallon\u00a0Golden Gem reclaimed water facility, including updates on construction of the facility\u2019s distribution pump station and pond reconstruction, during an Apopka City Commission Workshop on Wednesday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vladimir Simonovski, public works director and city engineer, and Kevin Friedman, an engineer with\u00a0Ardaman\u00a0& Associates, Inc. and its parent company, Tetra Tech, will make the presentation at the workshop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Simonovski\u00a0is slated to provide an overview of the facility, including its regional significance, environmental\u00a0benefits\u00a0and partnership history with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD). The city originally entered into an agreement with SJRWMD in 2009 and voted to\u00a0extend it for the seventh time<\/a>\u00a0at the May\u00a020\u00a0City Commission\u00a0regular\u00a0meeting.\u00a0The current extension runs from May 30 through\u00a0March 31, 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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At the\u00a0same meeting,\u00a0Simonovski\u00a0said the city has budgeted about $12.5 million through its capital improvement program for a new pump station and between $2.5 million and $3 million for replacement of the pond liners alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city of Apopka maintains interlocal agreements with Sunshine Water, Orange County,\u00a0the city of Altamonte Springs<\/a>\u00a0and the city of Mount Dora. Those agreements were executed between 2011 and 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Golden Gem facility consists of two ponds: the East Pond, completed in 2021; and the West Pond, completed in 2023.\u00a0The facility has undergone extensive evaluation and repair efforts since a sinkhole formed at the site in January 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The June 17 workshop presentation materials outline the next phases of design,\u00a0construction\u00a0and reconstruction for both ponds, beginning\u00a0in\u00a0September and extending beyond spring 2027. According to the\u00a0documents, city staff will provide regular milestone updates to the City Commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Friedman is slated to present findings from the facility assessment, proposed design\u00a0solutions\u00a0and an implementation\u00a0schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According\u00a0to the\u00a0workshop\u00a0materials, existing observations include failures at liner seams that have resulted in leakage, deterioration of liner material, gravel or rock fragments beneath the liners causing protrusions, and isolated clay deposits that may create a perched water table above the pond-bottom elevation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Proposed design solutions include evaluating subsurface soils beneath the pond bottoms and side slopes to ensure they can adequately support the liner system, assessing groundwater conditions, installing a textured 60-mil-thick HDPE geomembrane\u00a0liner\u00a0and providing a protective soil cover above the liner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The implementation schedule calls for separating work on the West Pond from work on the East Pond and prioritizing the return of the smaller West Pond to service as soon as practical. Design of the West Pond is currently targeted for completion in August, followed by bidding and construction, with reconstruction expected to\u00a0finish\u00a0by March 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A schedule for the East Pond has not yet been\u00a0established\u00a0because the city\u2019s immediate priority is restoring the West Pond to service, according to the presentation materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Teresa Sargeant has been with The Apopka Chief for over 10 years.<\/p>\n

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