Waldo to send wastewater to GRU

 In a meeting Tuesday morning, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners approved the proposal to extend a Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) wastewater force main extension from Gainesville to Waldo to provide wastewater service to the city.

The 12-mile extension would offer a resolution to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) consent order issued to Waldo in 2009.

According to Waldo City Manager Kim Worley, running a line underground was the city’s best option. Building a new plant would be too expensive, and too difficult to maintain with such a high cost.

“It is truly the best alternative for a small town as far as it being handled professionally,” she said.

Now that the proposal has been approved, Worley said, the next step is waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to respond with financing for the project.  The estimated $5.2 million project would be paid by a grant, and loan which will be paid back by the city over a 40-year period.

“It’s really tough because it’s expensive, but at the same time, we are under consent order,” she said.

In November 2010, the County Commission reviewed the interlocal agreement draft, adding that the force main be limited in size to a 10-inch diameter, which according to Worley, is the most the city could afford anyway.

Because the line runs through Gainesville, Waldo and Alachua County, all three entities will have to approve any connections to the line outside of the “urban cluster,” surrounding the City of Gainesville.

Initially, the concept stirred a brief controversy among county commissioners, who were concerned that with other entities making decisions, there could be an increased risk of urban sprawl.

But according to Worley, “urban sprawl is just as much an issue for the city as it is for the county, so having all three entities involved is an added layer of protection against future development in the unincorporated area.”

The final approval for the interlocal agreement passed quickly on the consent agenda at Tuesday’s County Commission meeting.

Now, Worley’s only concern is a rise in the wastewater and sewer rates, which will be controlled by GRU instead of Waldo.

“In such a small city, we want to try and keep the rates as low as possible.” But it’s worth it, she said.

Without the help of GRU, the city would still be struggling.

“It was really great that all four entities worked together to get this passed,” Worley said, “The county, City of Gainesville and GRU really stepped up to help us.”

Waldo city officials hope to have the project completed in about two years.