Failing septic tanks are big problem for the bay. Miami-Dade finally starts to deal with them
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Biscayne Bay on the Brink
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Miami-Dade has — finally — begun chipping away at the $4 billion problem festering beneath homes across the county.
The county’s aging collection of septic tanks is failing, and sea level rise will worsen the problem within the next decade. As rising waters steal valuable drainage space beneath the concrete boxes full of human waste, the chances of polluted water sickening humans and harming Biscayne Bay rise. Experts say it’s one of the big reasons for the repeated fish kills that littered Miami’s shores with dead marine life the last two summers.
The solution has been clear for 70 years. The county needs to shift homes and businesses off septic and onto county sewage as soon as it can, an expensive proposition for the 120,000-plus tanks estimated to still exist. A 2018 county report said switching just 83,000 of them would cost $3.3 billion.
But now the county has a plan and some money to back it up. In December, Miami-Dade released its strategy for converting septic to sewer, starting in the neighborhoods where the tanks are already failing.
The first project is in Little River. With a grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and matching funds from the county’s general obligation bond, Miami-Dade plans to spend $15 million to convert 40 homes from septic to sewer by installing massive sewer pipes in the area.
Roy Coley, head of Miami-Dade’s water and sewer department, said the department is in the design phase of the project and intends to break ground in January.
After this one kicks off, Coley said his team will turn to Ojus in north Miami-Dade for another pocket of at-risk septic tanks to convert, hopefully with the help of more state funding to match the $10 million the county plans to spend.
“We’re chasing grant money for the absolute most vulnerable areas first,” Coley said.
Finding the cash to pay for these projects, which often involve installing pricey sewage pipes to reach new areas, is tough because the county is barred from using the money it collects from sewer fees on expansion to new customers. Instead, it relies on money from elsewhere in the county budget, as well as federal and state grants.
This year, Miami-Dade received a bounty of federal funding in the form of the COVID-19 relief package known as the American Rescue Plan. County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava originally earmarked $121 million of it for septic to sewer conversions but slashed it to $108 million in final budget hearings after handing some over to update parks and build new trails.
That’s in addition to the $126 million bond-funded county program to convert about 1,000 commercial septic tanks to sewage. Earlier this year, Miami-Dade completed a $5.7 million portion of that project that included new pump stations and a force main. In the upcoming fiscal year, the county plans to spend another $18.5 million.
The county is also planning on spending $90 million over the next five years to install new connection points on its sewage pipes that would allow another 12,000 septic tank customers to connect at their own expense.
Miami-Dade had even more ambitious plans to tackle the 6,000 most vulnerable properties — a $240 million expense — but it was recently snubbed by the state, which gave out nearly $500 million in largely federal funds for wastewater system improvements. South Florida counties didn’t receive a dime of the funding.
Gov. Ron DeSantis spokeswoman Christine Pushaw told the Miami Herald that was because Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties don’t have basin management action plans (a strategy to address water pollution) like the other grant receivers.
Emails obtained by the Miami Herald show that county staff specifically asked the state environmental protection agency if the lack of plan would be a barrier, and the agency encouraged them to apply anyway.
Levine Cava said it was disappointing that the county didn’t receive the grant, but that it wouldn’t deter Miami-Dade from proceeding with septic tank conversions.
“This is money that was important, for which we thought we were extremely eligible and that was a priority for us and for our bay,” she said. “We obviously have to do this work. It is a number one priority for our county and our commission.”
Coley said the county is also working with several cities and towns to help them explore options to get rid of their septic tanks, including tapping into federal funding or levying new taxes.
“I do believe in the very near future you’re going to see a great number of these septic tanks gone,” Coley said. “We want to keep bringing in the dollars to make this happen quicker rather than later.”
But despite this push to lower the grand total of septic tanks in the county, Miami-Dade is also allowing new septic tanks to be installed every year. Homeowners continuously receive permission to install new tanks in areas untouched by county sewage lines, and the commission approves the development of new homes that depend on septic.
Miami Herald Staff Writer Douglas Hanks contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 14, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
