Tens of thousands of property owners in Indian River County who rely on septic systems face a looming deadline. A state law passed in 2023 requires properties with existing septic systems in the Indian River Lagoon watershed to connect to a central sewer or upgrade to an advanced nitrogen-reducing septic system by July 1, 2030. Many affected residents aren’t aware of the law or its consequences for them but either option will cost property owners thousands of dollars, with few government sources of funding available, at least at this time, according to county officials. Trying to get residents focused and up to speed, county staff members will hold public workshops this month at several locations across the county to help property owners sort through their mandated obligations, choose the right option, and plan for the costs. For many decades, septic systems were almost universal in most rural and some suburban communities in America. Florida’s groundwater table, however, is high, and these systems release water loaded with chemical nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorous, into the groundwater. This nutrient-rich water eventually makes its way into the Indian River Lagoon and other economically important and ecologically sensitive waters around the state. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus can fuel massive, toxic algae blooms that suffocate seagrass and damage marine and freshwater ecosystems. Failing septic systems can also create health hazards by contaminating drinking water wells and polluting lakes and streams where people fish and swim. In 2023, the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 1379 and Senate Bill 1632 that strengthened the state’s wastewater treatment requirements. The companion bills mandate elimination of older septic systems in areas covered by the state’s 28 Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPS), which were established by the Florida Legislature in 1999 under the Florida Watershed Restoration Act. Three BMAPS were created to protect the Indian River Lagoon, including the Central Indian River Lagoon BMAP, which extends from Melbourne to Fort Pierce and includes Vero Beach, Indian River Shores, Orchid, Sebastian and Fellsmere, as well as large chunks of unincorporated Indian River County. Only part of Indian River County falls within the BMAP area. Western parts of the county are far enough from the lagoon that septic systems aren’t seen as a threat to the waterway. But there are about 28,000 county properties with septic systems within the BMAP boundary. These are the properties whose owners must connect to the centralized sewer system or upgrade to an advanced onsite treatment system. Only a small fraction of those properties – fewer than 1,000 homes or businesses – are located within the county’s existing or planned sewer system service areas, said Sean Liske, the county’s utilities director. That means the other 27,000 properties will have to install new septic systems or face the consequences for non-compliance. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has the authority to enforce the Act. The county spends between $51,000 and $65,000 per property to provide a hookup to the centralized sewer system, Lieske said. These costs are funded through state grants and the county’s required local match, he said. But once a sewer connection line is brought to the property, it is up to the property owner to pay the cost of connecting. These costs can range from $5,000 to $8,000 to connect to a main gravity sewer, Lieske said. As the name implies, this connection relies on gravity to carry wastewater naturally downhill into large underground pipes. In cases where gravity is not sufficient, properties may need to be connected by a pressurized system with a lift pump. In those cases, wastewater flows to a small tank on the property where a grinder pump cuts up solid waste and pushes it under pressure into the centralized sewer. Property owners can expect to pay from $11,000 to more than $20,000 to connect via this method, Lieske said. Maintenance costs are higher for lift pump systems, as well, because of the grinder equipment, Lieske said. Once connected, property owners will also be responsible for decommissioning their old septic tank. The costs for this vary depending on the property. Owners will first need to obtain an abandonment permit from the Florida Department of Health. FDOH will inspect the property after the abandonment. For affected properties in the county that are outside the public sewer service area, owners will have to install an enhanced nutrient-reducing, or ENR, septic system that removes at least 65 percent of nitrogen from household sewage before it reaches the groundwater. These costs can range from $12,500 to $20,000 for new construction, or from $15,000 to $25,000 to retrofit an existing system, Lieske said. On top of that, property owners can expect to pay $1,200 to $2,000 per year on maintenances and inspections, he said. The longer a property owner waits to perform these connections or upgrades, the higher the costs will climb due to inflation, Lieske said. The county has applied for approximately $50 million in grants from the FDEP to help property owners connect to the central sewer system, said Howard Richards, the utility department’s manager of capital projects. If approved, that grant money will cover the costs of infrastructure and some private sewer connections, he said. The county is continuing to pursue state grants and financial assistance programs to help reduce costs for additional eligible homeowners, Richards said. Detailed information about requirements imposed by the 2023 legislation and options for compliance, including costs and timelines, will be presented at upcoming Indian River County Sewer Conversion Workshops. The workshops will be held at the following times and locations: <ul> <li>5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, Indian River County Fairgrounds & Expo Center, 7955 58th Ave., Vero Beach</li> <li>5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, Intergenerational Center, 1590 9th St. SW, Vero Beach</li> <li>5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, North County Library, 1001 Sebastian Blvd., Sebastian</li> <li>11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept 15, Main Library, 1600 21st St., Vero Beach</li> <li>11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, Main Library, 1600 21st St., Vero Beach</li> <li>5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, Intergenerational Center, 1590 9th St. SW, Vero Beach</li> <li>5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, North County Library, 1001 Sebastian Blvd., Sebastian.</li> </ul> For more details about the workshops, visit www.IRCS2SProgram.com or call 772-770-5300. Property owners can find out if their properties are inside the BMAP area by using FDEP’s online mapping resource at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2f2c2b25c0c4452880035 a3d51c21e9e.