At a groundbreaking event on 1st February, county leaders praised the project as a step toward a «future-proofed county.»
«We are making bold achievements to ensure we have a resilient future—we will and we must,» said Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
The wastewater treatment plant on Virginia Key has long been a poster child for the havoc sea level rise could wreak on Miami-Dade County’s basic functions. It’s low-lying and at risk from even a few feet of storm surge.
The $216 million upgrade includes building new components of the plant stronger and higher to better protect them from sea rise. It also features top-of-the-line diesel generators to keep the plant running after a storm and extra capacity to better handle the extra wastewater flowing its way as the county works to switch residents from polluting septic tanks to county sewer.
And perhaps most importantly, the upgrades could also help Miami-Dade get closer to meeting a state requirement by 2025 to stop dumping most of its treated wastewater into the Atlantic Ocean.
