County, Water District Ink Hickory Hill Deal

SPRING LAKE - Seven years from now, a million gallons or more of reclaimed water per day could be flowing from a county wastewater treatment plant to the massive Hickory Hill subdivision planned for this tiny east county hamlet.

First, though, the infrastructure to produce, store and transport that water has to be designed and built.

The first major step toward that goal happened recently when officials with the Hernando County Utilities Department, the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the developers of Hickory Hill signed an agreement that outlines the plan to make it happen.

"I think it's a win-win for all three parties," Dale Ravencraft, engineering manager for the county utilities department, said of the deal that has been more than a year in the making.

The plan is projected to save some 750,000 gallons of potable water each day. That's why the water management district, commonly known as Swiftmud, signed the deal, said Carl Wright, senior water conservation analyst at the district who is manager for the Hickory Hill reuse project.

"If we're not going to get a benefit to the resource, we're not going to enter into an agreement," Wright said.

As part of the deal signed last month, Swiftmud and Hickory Hill LLC/Sierra Properties will split the projected $6.7 million cost for the design and construction of the system.

The plan calls for a 1-million-gallon ground storage tank to be built at the county's existing Ridge Manor wastewater treatment plant on Kettering Road. Upgrades to the plant will provide the capability to properly chlorinate the water to make it suitable for reuse.

A new pump station will propel the water west through 31,000 feet of pipe to two retention ponds in the Hickory Hill development, which is to be built about two miles southwest of the Interstate 75/State Road 50 interchange. The ponds will be lined to prevent the water from seeping into the ground.

A second pump station at Hickory Hill will pull the water from the ponds and into the community's irrigation system.

The system will initially provide 300,000 gallons of water per day to slake the thirst of two of the upscale community's golf courses and landscaped common areas, according to Swiftmud.

Later, when the community grows closer to a projected maximum of 1,750-homes, it will get up to one million gallons of reclaimed water each day. If the plant produces more than that, Hickory Hill gets first dibs on any additional water.

The goal, however, is to also have the ability to provide reclaimed water to several developments planned for the area near the I-75 interchange, Ravencraft said.

The design phase of the project begins this May. Actual construction on the system is slated to start in May of 2009, and the county will be able to produce and pump at least some reclaimed water by the end of 2010, Ravencraft said.

The entire system is projected to be completed by 2015.

"We're glad to have reached this significant milestone, and that we're working cooperatively with the county and the district to manage water resources," said Sebring Sierra, vice-president of operations for Sierra Properties.