Greg Veliz, executive director for the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been happening with our water.
The aqueduct has a number of capital projects underway.
Veliz said, “Some are some are nearing completion, some are complete. Then we’ve got so many in the in the planning and just groundbreaking stage that it’s a lot to take care of and things are getting thrown on us every day. Some things we hadn’t planned. Major projects are also getting added. So there’s taken some juggling to get there. But what we’ve got going right now, well from the completion standpoint, we’re about to wrap up a project we’ve got in Key West. We were able to utilize an old pipe that was already in the ground and sleeve it and while it has been a tremendous inconvenience for the people down in that area, just because it’s so hard to work down there, it would have been 10 times worse had we not have been able to sleeve that pipe. So that job is nearing completion, so that’ll be good. That’ll solidify that part of the system for many, many years to come. One of the positive things about having some existing infrastructure in the ground is that sometimes it gives you a way out. Most of the time, it just stands in the way, but there are times that it actually gives you a way out. And this is one of those times.”
What are the other projects?
Veliz said, “The RO plant that’s been in progress for a while and now we’re just sitting on supply line problems like everyone else has been having. But we’re 90% complete on that and that’s coming to fruition, it will, we should expect by the end of the year, we’ll be operational. That’ll be generating water continuously, brand new RO plant on Stock Island. We’re in the environmental phase, and the final permitting phase of our RO plant up in Marathon, which is also going to help another 4 million gallons a day, which helps a great deal having it that far south. We’ve got a lot of wastewater projects, wastewater sometimes tends to get pushed into the background. Yet, we’re finding a lot of grant funding. So we’re doing a lot of wastewater projects and that makes us more resilient.”
RO stands for Reverse Osmosis, which is different from the majority of the water that comes through the pipeline.
Veliz said, “Real simple talk, it’s just making sea water and drinking water. That’s basically at the end of the day, all we’re doing. So that that helps a great deal. The cost of producing that water is high, though, the power that it takes and the amount of electricity to run those pumps and to run that system is far greater than just pumping it down the Keys. So it does have a cost associated with it. But the dependability is there and the proximity is there. It’s closer to us. So it’s much better for us.”
The product has actually won awards.
Veliz said, “We’re going up in, I think it’s a couple of weeks for this year’s competition. So hoping to walk away with some hardware.”
How has the five year planned shifted?
Veliz said, “We have the new PFAS regulations that have been handed down by the federal government. While we were expecting those, and we knew that they were coming, and we feel as though we’re well ahead of the curve, as far as planning and implementing a plan, it’s still going to be in the probably $70 to $100 million dollar range. Which is problematic, obviously when you’re not expecting that. So far, there haven’t been any federal funds made available, and we’re hoping that’s going to change. What that’s going to do is take some impurities that have been in the water for many, many, many years and state guidelines that were at least today are accepted guidelines, and they’re going to change them to zero and getting from where we are today to zero is going to be very costly, and pretty much revamp our entire system.”
Could the federal regulations change again if there’s an administrative change at the federal level?
Veliz said, “Yes, we have heard that. But here’s the thing. Once you’ve announced, it’s a health issue, but it’s also a public relations issue. Once you’ve announced that these things are in the water, how do you put that genie back in the bottle? My engineering department was pretty excited when they heard the changes were going to come, maybe it’ll reduce what we have to do, but I don’t think we can go back on what we have to do. We’ve got it out there. We know it’s there. We’ve made plans, we started them in the process, and how do I come back now and go they changed the rules, we’re going to leave a little bit in. I can’t do that.”
The aqueduct is a little ahead of schedule in terms of the five year plan.
Veliz said, “We’re doing very well. We’ve gone from 30 million, a couple of years ago, we’re hoping to top 100 this year, and we’d love to be in the 150 next year, as long as the funding holds up. Grant funding, we’re tripled the size of the people within the company working on grants. We’ve also enlisted the help of a grant writer. So we’re investing heavily in the identification and obtaining grants. That’s a really simple mathematical equation. If they bring in more than a than they cost, then it’s a success. We believe that’s going to help on the wastewater side a great deal and just continue to go to Tallahassee. Tallahassee’s been very good to us, we don’t anticipate that changing. So every time there’s a chance, we look under every rock for every dollar.”
At the end of the five year plan, how much of the transmission line will have been replaced or completed?
Veliz said, “By the time what we currently have funded, planning, and it’s actually a project, somewhere about 15 to 20 miles. Now, we’ve got 130 miles, and some of it isn’t as old as others. So obviously, there are priorities that we’re going to have you. Now there are some inclusions in the meetings, we’re having, hey, what’s next? We need to start thinking out onto what’s next. Because we’re going to keep going so everything’s replaced, and it’s brand new, but that’s going to take many, many, many years. Remember those ones that were getting, the miles we are doing are the worst miles. So it’s not like we’re just digging in where everything is equal. We’re actually taking care of the more problematic areas to prioritize.”