Protecting the waters surrounding Siesta Key

Siesta Key Master Pumping Station and Force Main

To help maintain the Sarasota Bay’s water quality, Sarasota County’s comprehensive plan calls for reducing or eliminating surface water discharges of wastewater effluent, and increasing the potential for beneficial reuse by centralizing wastewater treatment at the county’s regional facilities. Stantec recommended decommissioning Siesta Key plant and replacing it with a pump station to deliver effluent to a regional treatment plant.

Siesta Key is noted for its pristine beaches, large homes, and year round tourism, so the force main pipeline route had to address a number of factors. The route traversed a variety of challenging environments, including the intracoastal waterway, hurricane evacuation routes, established neighborhoods with limited rights-of-way, and heavy tourism traffic. Stantec identified several potential forcemain routes based on these constraints and concerns, and developed planning level cost estimates for each. The county chose the shortest route as the most attractive based on cost and degree of disruption to the community. A future park is being considered for the site of the decommissioned plant, enhancing the islands value and beauty even more.