Fort Lauderdale residents will no longer see yellow-tinted water flow from their taps, city leaders say.<\/p>\n
A new $66 million plant began sending treated water into the city\u2019s system last month and hosted an official opening celebration Thursday. The facility goes online following decades of resident concerns over water clarity and taste.<\/p>\n
The Prospect Lake Clean Water Center, located west of the airport on Prospect Road, replaces the Fiveash Water Treatment Plant. Fiveash, built in 1953, could no longer meet the city\u2019s long-term needs, said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis at Thursday\u2019s event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Prospect Lake Clean Water Center represents one of the largest infrastructure investments in our city\u2019s history,\u201d Trantalis said.<\/p>\n
While Fiveash was held together by \u201crubber bands and spit,\u201d he said, the new building can withstand a Category 5 hurricane. It\u2019ll also pump 50 million gallons of water per day, compared to Fiveash\u2019s 30 million, using an advanced nanofiltration and ion exchange treatment.<\/p>\n
The plant was approved in 2023 in a divided 3-2 vote, with some city commissioners raising concerns at the time over the high price tag.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Mayor: Fort Lauderdale to invest $500m in flood prevention project<\/a><\/p>\n Fort Lauderdale water customers will foot the $1.4 billion cost for the project over the course of a 30-year loan. Water rates will go up<\/a> 9% through 2027, then level off to a 5% annual adjustment.<\/p>\n For some, the concerns went beyond money. People also asked whether the city\u2019s pipe system would continue harming water clarity \u2014 regardless of the waters\u2019 origin point. The city\u2019s older pipes, made of iron, steel, concrete or clay, are more sensitive <\/a>to corrosion than the modern PVC pipe.<\/p>\n Yet on Thursday, Mayor Trantalis said the city must first remove metals, chemicals and plastics from the water. Only then can it continue the ongoing process of replacing its pipes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don’t have old, rusted pipes that all these haters have been saying,\u201d he said. \u201cOur system is a system that is intact, that is safe, and the real source of the problems that we had started with the water treatment plant. Now, we no longer have that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Between 2023 and 2028, Fort Lauderdale expects to spend<\/a> $54 million replacing water pipes. The city\u2019s most recent water quality report showed<\/a> its drinking water met all federal, state and local drinking water standards, despite its discoloration.<\/p>\n City leaders have remained confident that areas served by the plant \u2014 including Port Everglades and all or parts of Wilton Manors, Oakland Park, Tamarac, Davie, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Sea Ranch Lakes \u2014 will see clear water as the new plant transitions to take over the old one.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because the Fiveash plant\u2019s lime-softening treatment couldn\u2019t remove<\/a> organic material known as tannins, the compounds that give the water its yellow tint.<\/p>\n