Securing Sarasota County's water future may cost $350 million

SARASOTA — It could cost as much as $350 million to secure the water needed to meet the demand Sarasota County Utilities wants to be able to satisfy over the next 20 years.

That’s the county’s potential share of the expansion of the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority, which provides about half the county’s potable water currently — 15 million gallons per day, Utilities Director Brooke Bailey told the County Commission Tuesday.

The Authority serves DeSoto, Charlotte and Sarasota counties and North Port.

It’s already planning to increase production by about 25 million gallons per day by 2044, of which 12 million is to go to Sarasota County. But because Charlotte County and North Port haven’t yet sought an allocation of the increased capacity, more — an additional 5 mgd — may be available.

The Authority is pursuing two expansion projects, and both are necessary, Bailey said. The issue is which to prioritize.

One project is surface water supply expansion, which involves a plant expansion and a new 9-billion-gallon reservoir. The project would add 24 mgd in production, though that’s with the plant operating at 100% capacity, which it can’t do on a daily basis, she said. The average additional production would be 18 mgd.

Project two includes a new reverse-osmosis treatment plant and 15 new groundwater wells. This project would bring on 12 mgd at maximum production, 8 mgd on average, Bailey said.

The estimated cost of the surface water expansion project is $504 million, but it already has about $133 million in grant funding in place. The price tag on the groundwater expansion project is $285 million, with no grant funding for it now, she said.

While the groundwater project is cheaper, it would only meet projected needs until 2033, she said. The surface water project, on the other hand, would cover the county until 2044 and give it excess capacity it could sell, she said.

That would be important, Bailey said, because the full cost of each project would fall on the county if the Authority’s other members don’t seek an allocation of the additional capacity to be created.

The commissioners quickly lined up behind Bailey’s recommendation to push participation in the surface water project.

“I can’t think of anything that’s more core than water supply,” Commissioner Ron Cutsinger said, adding that he’d rather be looking at who to sell to than who to buy from.

Commission Chair Mike Moran agreed.

“Erring on the side of more water, I don’t think is much of a risk,” he said. “Seems like a no-brainer to me.”