Miami-Dade is eliminating more dirty septic tanks. And it won’t cost taxpayers a dime
Miami-Dade’s quest to convert its stock of polluting septic tanks to county sewer lines before sea level rise worsens the problem has found some unlikely new allies — developers.
Dozens of property owners in the North Miami-Dade area of Ojus banded together to convince the county to install massive new pipes and a pump station to help them connect to sewer — a move that also clears the way for expansive new development in the area.
The price tag was pretty high: about $10 million for 107 properties. But the property owners agreed to foot the bill themselves, repaying the county over the next 30 years with a fee added to their annual tax bills.
The county plans to have all 107 septic tanks removed in the next 12 months, if not faster.
“That’s a lot of — cough — that we’re keeping out of waterways,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told a crowd gathered at Greynolds Park Wednesday to kick off the project. “This will complete a community vision two decades in the making.”
It’s a novel approach for a county with 120,000 septic tanks left to dispose of, 9,000 of which are already at risk of failing. As sea levels continue to rise, the higher groundwater starts to reach the concrete boxes of human waste. That now-polluted water dirties Biscayne Bay, leading to fish kills, or spills into homes and yards.
With one additional foot of sea rise, expected by about 2040, the number of tanks at risk of failing jumps to 13,500.
It won’t be cheap. The county’s best estimate is north of $3 billion to convert all of its tanks, and that doesn’t include commercial properties or the share property owners will have to pay. The $10 million bond for this project, paid entirely by property owners, doesn’t include the cost to connect individual properties, which can be around $10,000 per lot.
“We’re working on federal grants, we’re working on state grants, relentlessly. Every source we can find,” said Levine Cava. “If we don’t keep our waterways clean, we’re doomed.”
But for this specific project, county taxpayers won’t be footing the bill.
“Not one penny,” said Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Director Roy Coley.
New development ahead
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman grew up in the Ojus area of north Miami-Dade, which she now represents. Heyman said the area has never had access to sewer lines, and that has slowed down development.
“People bought with good intentions and assumed the infrastructure would catch up, and it didn’t,” she said.
The area’s sewage pump station was too small to handle much additional development, but with the new capacity upgrade and additional pipes included in this project, Heyman said development can be “unchained.”
For developers, it’s a small cost that unlocks larger — and more profitable — projects. It could also bring new housing to the area, although it’s unclear if that includes affordable or workforce housing.
Gustavo Lumer, head of Lumer Real Estate and property owner in the Ojus area, said this project will allow development of 700 new residential units and 40 new businesses in the area.
“It’s a dream coming true,” he told the crowd.
Lumer, along with other business owners, approached Commissioner Heyman a few years back with the idea to fund the upgrade themselves by creating a “special benefit area.” None of the elected officials or property owners involved could confirm if the vote to convert from septic to sewage was unanimous among all 107 properties.
Sam Dichy, owner of CasaUSA brokerage, said he has six projects in Ojus that can finally get started, including new housing developments.
“We have all the projects and their approvals waiting for the septic lines,” he said. “We have been assembling the land for 10 years waiting for this to happen.”
Another developer, Offer Ramin with T&O Enterprises, said he’s owned land in this area for 25 years and thanks to this project, is now able to break ground on a 700-unit 15-story apartment building.
“You’re talking about tens of millions in income,” he said. “It should have been done 20 years ago.”
