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Winter Garden received a $19.1 million dollar grant through the American Relief Act (ARA), Jon Williams, city manager, announced at the Nov. 13 city commission meeting.
The money is earmarked to help pay for the expansion and construction upgrades at the city’s Crest Avenue waste water treatment facility next to Lake Apopka, which began in February and are expected to continue for another two years. This water treatment facility handles the water from sink and shower drains and flushed toilets. Once solids are removed and sent to a non-city-owned facility, the remaining water is used for irrigation.
The Crest Avenue facility was operating at 74 percent capacity and expansion is required once a plant hits 50 percent capacity, Stephen Pash, assistant city manager, told VoxPopuli last year.
About three-quarters of Crest Avenue water treatment facility’s construction costs are related to the requirements to bring the plant into compliance with state standards for reducing levels of nitrogen and phosphorous, which contribute to algae and hydrilla growth, in Lake Apopka. Increased capacity at the treatment plant also means the city can reduce the water it draws from the Floridan aquifer for irrigation, according to its state local funding request.
The current project budget for the waste water treatment facility is $132 million, according to Williams. He said the city has brought in a total of $39.4 million in grant money, reducing costs by 29 percent.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection contributed $15 million; American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) contributed $13 million; $1.75 million came from the local funding request; and $9.5 million came from the American Rescue Plan 2025, which included $3 billion in disaster relief funds administered by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The grant is part of monies made available for waste water treatment and drinking water facilities in states, like Florida, affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Under the grant’s terms, 50 percent of the $19.1 million will be forgiven, and 50 percent is in the form of a 0 percent loan.
“We originally identified between $30- and $50 million as a goal, so we’re very pleased to have hit this goal of $39 million 11 months into this project,” Williams later told VoxPopuli.
He told VoxPopuli that it was unclear whether the influx of grant money would help reduce water fees to residents, which have increased to help pay for the project. Fees jumped 20 percent this year. While there will be no fee increase for 2026, there will be a 20 percent hike in 2027, then a 7 percent jump in 2028 and another 7 percent jump in 2029.
Williams said the city would continue to pursue other grant opportunities.
