City approves septic abatement
BY BRADLEY “B.J.” DAVIS, JR. Gulf Breeze News bjdavis@gulfbreezenews.com

Forty Highpoint and North Sunset residents will be utilizing part of a $1 million grant that has been apportioned for septic tank abatement within city limits. At the Dec. 18 Gulf Breeze City Council meeting, council members agreed to move forward with the project which received three-fourths of resident approval on the two streets.

“We have 31 folks out of 40 in favor at this point, which is 77 percent. The council has used 60 percent as a threshold as whether or not to proceed with this type of project,” said City Manager Edwin “Buz” Eddy.

The total Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) the city applied for and received after Hurricane Ivan allocated $1 million to be used to mitigate the impact of future storms. The city spent $371,000 on fuel storage facilities at its water plant, making it sustainable for 7-10 days; portable generators were also purchased to operate wastewater lift stations; and the remaining grant money will offset the cost of resident sewer hook-up in waterfront and low-lying areas.

“The remaining $629,000 is earmarked for septic tank abatement in areas where septic tank operation can be a problem during and after a storm, such as those septic tanks that service waterfront locations,” Eddy said in a memorandum to the council.

The total construction cost of the sewer for 13 homes on North Sunset and 27 homes on Highpoint is $1,033,118, including a cost of $4,500 for each of the 40 taps. The CDBG grant money and a city contribution of $100,000 leaves an approximate cost of $10,600 per resident, including a $3,000 allowance for connection.

According to area officials, there are health concerns as a result of fecal matter polluting

area waterways, including Woodlawn Bayou where these homes are located.

“We have parallel studies going on in Escambia County Department of Health. Even areas where there’s relatively high elevation, there’s a chronic contamination of the waterways with fecal matter,” said Dick Smith, chair of the South Santa Rosa Utility Service advisory board.

According to city codes, every homeowner whose property line is within 100 feet of city sewer is required to connect to it at the homeowner’s cost whether they elect to have the septic tank abated or not. The city officials said that the CDBG greatly reduced the cost of that connection providing a better opportunity for the residents.

“This project is around $10,000 due to the narrow scope — 40 houses - and the large CDB Grant,” said Eddy. “Highpoint and North Sunset residents have had a continued interest in abating their septic tanks for years and didn’t back away when they heard about the cost.”

A main question of these interested residents was when would the project begin and be completed. City officials said they would begin as soon as possible and speculate work completion sometime in the middle of next year. “It will be after the first of the year, I’m sure, before we start construction,” said Eddy. “We’ll get it done as fast as we can.”