The Board of County Commissioners, along with dignitaries, staff and citizens, broke ground on Tuesday, May 23 for the new Southwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility (SWRWRF) plant in Homosassa that is a cornerstone project for the protection of Citrus County’s springs system.

The Southwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility (SWRWRF) is an existing wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) owned and operated by Citrus County approximately 3 miles east of the Chassahowitzka River, which has been designated an Outstanding Florida Water. The Chassahowitzka River flows to the Gulf of Mexico and is formed from pristine waters contributed by more than 12 springs.

This project includes the planning, permitting, design and construction of an advanced wastewater treatment plant meeting a 5-5-3 effluent quality to replace the existing WWTF. The current facility will be replaced by a new 1.5 Million Gallons per Day (MGD) annual average daily flow, 4-stage Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) oxidation ditch system followed by secondary clarifiers, disc filters, and chlorine disinfection, with reclaimed water disposed to rapid infiltration basins on the plant site and to the County’s public access reuse.  BNR is a process used for nitrogen and phosphorus removal from wastewater before it is discharged.

This cornerstone project is part of a larger and continuing effort to protect our water in Citrus County by removing unwanted nutrients, reducing groundwater pumping and providing capacity for future septic to sewer projects now and in the future.   This is a project of Citrus County Water Resources Department led by Director Ken Cheek, Engineering firm is Jones Edmunds & Associates, Inc. and the contractor is Wharton Smith, Inc. The project is slated to be completed and operational by summer 2020.