The Southwest Florida Water Management District, Hernando County and the developers of Hickory Hill signed an agreement to work together to bring reclaimed water to the proposed Hickory Hill community.
The project includes the design, permitting and construction of a reclaimed water storage and transmission system, which will involve constructing a one-million-gallon ground storage tank, two pump stations, three lined retention ponds and 31,000 linear feet of reclaimed water transmission line.
This project is expected to initially provide up to 300,000 gallons per day (gpd) of reclaimed water, which will be used to irrigate two proposed golf courses and common landscaped areas.
Over time, as the development matures, the Ridge Manor wastewater treatment plant is expected to be able to provide up to 1.25 million gpd of reclaimed water for irrigation. The project will offset 750,000 gpd of groundwater.
This cooperatively funded effort is expected to cost up to $6.7 million with the funding being divided between the District’s Withlacoochee River Basin Board and the developer, Hickory Hill, L.L.C./Sierra Properties. Hernando County will act as the cooperator and will work with the developer to design and construct the project. As part of the county’s agreement with Hickory Hill, the development will be provided with up to 1 million gpd of reclaimed water for irrigation. If the wastewater treatment plant produces more than that, the development has the first right of refusal for the additional quantities.
The design phase of the project is scheduled to begin in May. Barring no delays, construction is slated to begin in May 2009 and be complete by the end of April 2015.
Reclaimed water is wastewater that has received at least secondary treatment and is used for a beneficial purpose, such as irrigation. By offsetting demand for ground water and surface water, this alternative, non-traditional water source reduces stress on environmental systems, provides economic benefits by delaying costly water system expansions, and eliminates the need to discharge wastewater effluent to surface waters.