To keep pace with increasing water demand as Central Florida’s population grows, the Board of Commissioners for Florida public power utility OUC voted on April 9 to approve a new alternative water supply project.
To be built at an existing repump station on 15 acres in Lake Nona, the 40,000-square-foot Southeast Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant is estimated to be a $125 million to $155 million investment at completion, with the initial plant design phase totaling $8.1 million.
The project is set to begin construction in November 2025 and be completed in 2033.
The Southeast Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant will drill up to 2,000 feet into the ground, allowing OUC to reach even deeper into the Lower Floridan Aquifer and access an untapped source of brackish groundwater. Once retrieved, the water, which is more minerally concentrated at this depth, will undergo a high-pressure, microfiltration process – and then pass OUC’s rigorous treatment and testing standards – before being used as potable water.
The Southeast Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant is just one element of an integrated approach OUC is taking to meet increased water demand, it noted.
“Encouraging customers to conserve water – through conservation audits, educational programs with local schools, conservation best practices, and more – remains a top priority for OUC, as a provider and as a steward of Florida’s natural resources,” the utility said.
Other initiatives include implementing leak detection technology to proactively identify leaks in the water distribution system and on customer properties, a block rate approach increasing the price per unit of water as consumption increases, upgrading water meters with next generation Advanced Metering Infrastructure, and encouraging participation among customers in the City of Orlando’s reclaimed water program.
