Reclaimed water expansion, an approach that makes sense

Reclaimed Water Expansion

Reclaimed water service is a win-win—it’s a system that can eliminate or limit wastewater treatment effluent disposal in local waterways while also reducing the demands on potable water drinking systems by providing customers with non-potable water at lower rates. For the City of Fort Myers, expanding their reclaimed water service was the next step in better serving their communities.

The City already provides reclaimed water to bulk customers (like golf courses) in limited areas of the city, but over the next few years, they wanted to upgrade two of their wastewater treatment plants, which would also significantly increase their reclaimed water supply. With the opportunity to add additional bulk services plus introduce retail services—and a potential supply opportunity to another governmental entity—the City needed to know what their options were.

Our study helped the City of Fort Myers get a clear picture. Using our Financial Analysis and Management System (FAMS), we covered the funding cost of expanding the reclaimed water system in multiple scenarios, the corresponding classes of customers (government, bulk, retail), and associated demands that could be served by the City. With an analysis of impacts on potable water and sewer revenues from each scenario added in, the City was ready to improve their water systems and make some changes.