OKEECHOBEE -- Septic-to-sewer projects in Okeechobee County will take thousands of homes off septic tanks and improve water quality in runoff that goes into Lake Okeechobee.

At the Oct. 22 meeting of the Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners OUA Executive Director Greg Kennedy phases 1 and 2 of the Southwest septic-to-sewer project have been completed. The third phase involves running the sewer lines from SW 24^th Avenue, down to 32^nd, then 16^th and SR 78. This line will go all the way to the Okee-Tantie.

 Kennedy said one of the challenges has been obtaining a permit to drill under the Herbert Hoover Dike from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “We’re in the fourth round or responding to questions,” he explained.

He said OUA will also work with Big Cedar Lodge (the resort division of Bass Pro Shops) to determine the needs for water and sewer services at Okee-Tantie. He said they have not  met yet with “exact plans on the table to determine exactly what they will need.”

 “We are hopeful that by 2027, we will have this (sewer project) underway and have it built in time for what the developer needs,” he said.

“We can’t control the pace that the federal government does their job,” said Kennedy.

He said in the Southwest section, sewer hookups have been completed to 60 homes with 60 more under construction. About 500 connections are planned.

The Treasure Island septic-to-sewer project design plans are nearing completion, Kennedy continued.

 This project will connect nearly 2,000 homes that are currently using septic tanks to the sewer system. Based on water quality studies, this should be a great benefit to the environment, he said.

Treasure Island has a lot of homes on very small lots on the waterfront, he said. Tests have shown that nutrients from septic tanks enter the canals which flow into Lake Okeechobee.

He said tests have shown the nutrient load in that water is coming from human waste.

“This is an important project environmentally,” he said. OUA has obtained $20 million in grant funding for the project.