History of Wastewater and Reclaimed

• In 1972, the City of Apopka began wastewater treatment operations. The facility provided secondary treatment and basic disinfection using a Walker Process Package Plant. During that time, the treated effluent was disposed of via restricted access spray fields located at the treatment facility.
• In 1989, the facility went through a major expansion. This expansion allowed us to upgrade the treatment process to produce effluent reclaimed water that was suitable for full public access reuse. This was a huge advancement in technology that added preliminary treatment, a carousel loop aeration system, secondary clarification, tertiary filtration, and a chlorine contact system for disinfection.
• In 1997 the City was awarded the David W York Reuse Award as an outstanding reuse system in the State of Florida. 
• In 1999, an additional tertiary filtration system and chlorine contact chamber were added, along with two new high service reclaimed water distribution pumps to meet the increased demand for reclaimed water in our City.
• In 2004, the City constructed the North Reuse Pump Station at the Northwest Recreation Complex. This high service pump station gave us the ability send reuse water further throughout the City than ever before. We also constructed reclaimed ground storage holding tanks at the complex to allow us to store excess reclaimed water at the facility during wet weather periods, for use later when water irrigation demands are high.
• In 2008, we constructed the lined reservoir Jason Dwelly (JD) Pond and pump station at the Northwest Recreation Complex. This one of a kind reservoir allows us to collect all of the stormwater from the Recreation Complex, store it, and convert it to reclaimed water to use for irrigation purpose of City facilities.
• In 2010, we installed fountains in the JD reservoir to improve the appearances for the community enjoyment, aeration, and maintenance of this pond.
• In 2011, we entered into an agreement with Utilities Inc to take reclaimed water to supplement our needs and reduce the use of fresh water wells for irrigation purposes.
• In 2013, we entered into an agreement with Altamonte Springs to supplement our reclaimed water needs.
• In 2015, we entered into an agreement with Orange County Utilities to further augment our reclaimed water supply and reduce our dependency on fresh water.
• In 2016, we completed construction of the Lake Apopka North Shore Water Restoration Area. This facility and its permit allow us to draw and treat water to reuse standards directly from Lake Apopka to supplement the City’s reclaimed water needs in times of shortages. This project also included the construction of a 3 million gallon reclaimed water ground storage tank and a high service reuse repump station.
• In 2016, we broke ground on a whole new wastewater reclamation facility to continue to meet the City’s growing demand for reclaimed water. Our new plant was completed in 2019 and gives us enhanced nutrient removal that allows us to meet the standards laid out in the Wekiva River Basin Protection Act. The new Facility allows us to produce reclaimed water with nitrogen values below 5.0mg/L, which is half our DEP permitted discharge value.
• In 2021, we completed a 300 million gallon reclaimed holding pond on Golden Gym Rd. We have also begun construction on a second 50 million gallon holding pond, a 3 million gallon ground storage tank, and a high service reuse repump station. We have an anticipated completion date for the addition work for 2023.

As the City of Apopka grows, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to meet the growing demand for our water resources.