Excavating a retention pond would give Ormond Beach a steady source of reclaimed water for irrigation, and all but end the discharge of treated wastewater into the Halifax River.

Shawn Finley, public works director, rolled out a plan to do just that during a City Commission workshop.

Reclaimed water is treated wastewater from the city’s Water Treatment Plant. It’s fine to irrigate lawns and trees, but not recommended for thin-skinned fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes.

Mr. Finley said it’s important to stop the city’s discharge of about 1 million gallons a day of reclaimed water into the Halifax River.

“Even though it’s fully treated, it’s got advanced water treatment, it’s still got some residual nitrogen and phosphorous in that (reclaimed) water,” Mr. Finley said. “That’s what’s causing the algae blooms and red tides, although we really don’t have those here.”

The city provides reclaimed water for irrigation to 4,000 residential customers, Oceanside Country Club and a number of city properties.

Digging a 15-foot deep, 110-acre pond on a 147-acre site and construction of a storage tank give Ormond Beach the ability to store 100 million gallons of reclaimed water, on top of its current 10 million gallon storage capacity, a tenfold increase.

Two appraisals of the site were $633,000 and $662,000. Purchase of the property on the west side of Ormond Beach would be negotiated with the owner, Ormond Crossings.

Mr. Finley expects the purchase price would be recovered by selling the dirt excavated for the pond to developers.

Construction of a 2 million gallon water tank and installation of pipes to reach the site are estimated at $3.3 million. City officials might seek grants to help with costs.

Mr. Finley estimated the project to excavate the pond, build the storage tank and install pipes might take 18 months to 2 years to complete.

Commissioners expressed unbridled enthusiasm at the May 17 workshop for the plan, which is a priority of the elected officials.

“It’s exactly what we asked for,” Commissioner Rob Littleton said.

Commissioners Dwight Selby, Susan Persis and Troy Kent all pressed Mr. Finley on whether he was sure the project would eliminate discharge of reclaimed water into the Halifax River.

Each time Mr. Finley responded “yes,” discharges would be eliminated, except perhaps on extreme rainy days if the reservoir fills and there’s excess water to be discharged.

“That’s 700 million gallons a year we’d keep from the Intracoastal (Waterway),” Commissioner Selby said.

Mr. Finley added, “It’s a big step in the right direction.”

The project should also provide enough storage to keep reclaimed water flowing during dry times, such as April, when there’s little rainfall, Mr. Finley said.

Ormond Beach also is working to connect with Holly Hill to accept reclaimed water from that city.

City Manager Joyce Shanahan noted all the nodding heads of approval from Ormond Beach’s elected leaders and said an action item would be prepared for action at a future regular City Commission meeting.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Would you like to receive our daily news?  Signup today!

Want to receive our paper at home? Subscribe to our Print Edition!

To advertise your business, call (386) 322-5900. Agencies | National | Regional: Call Amanda Tucker at (772) 467-4352.

Sign up for our free e-newsletter: Email newsdy@hometownnewsmediagroup.com to get started.

We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.