Holley-Navarre Water System, Santa Rosa County inch closer to wastewater agreement

Santa Rosa County and the Holley-Navarre Water System are inching closer to a memorandum of agreement that will shape the future of wastewater infrastructure in the county, while the city of Gulf Breeze plans to forge its own path after saying it was effectively shut out of negotiations with the other two entities. 

At a board of directors meeting Monday night, the HNWS board members approved a memorandum of agreement that they will send to the county for approval by the end of the week. 

The MOA outlines how the Eglin regional reuse project — a massive infrastructure undertaking that will involve sending the majority of the county’s treated effluent east to Eglin Air Force Base — will be funded, operated and maintained in the future.

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“We hope for (the Board of County Commissioners') approval, since we agreed to basically what the county had requested,” HNWS Executive Director Rob Williamson told the News Journal in a phone interview Tuesday. “We had the opportunity to work closely with our staff and closely with county staff throughout this process, and we feel like we’re on the cusp of a historic agreement.”

But the city of Gulf Breeze painted a different picture at its City Council meeting Monday night, which was held at the same time as the HNWS Board of Directors meeting. 

Gulf Breeze City Manager Samantha Abell told the City Council that she felt like the county and HNWS weren't going to move forward with an interconnect to their Tiger Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, which the city believes is the most cost-effective, environmentally friendly solution to the region's wastewater disposal needs. 

She also said that during her tenure as city manager, which began in September 2016, she felt the city hadn't been included in ongoing negotiations about the Eglin project.

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“The response that I received (from the county) is that silence is an answer, and because we didn’t go to the county, they just assumed that we were not interested in an interconnect for Eglin. … Where we left things is that they, Santa Rosa County, said, absolutely, the door is open if Gulf Breeze wants to construct an interconnect,” Abell told the City Council Monday night. “The cost would be entirely born by the city of Gulf Breeze, and we said we would run the numbers and also look at other alternatives and that we would be getting back to them.”

The council wasn't warm to the idea of paying for the interconnect, or an alternative option of paying to run its water west to the incorporated area Gulf Breeze.

The county has applied for RESTORE funding to pay for its portion of the Eglin project, and Williamson said HNWS rate payers would pay for its portion. 

The route taken by HNWS, the county and Gulf Breeze essentially means that Gulf Breeze won't be able to expand its reclaimed water system, which it says is in high demand throughout the southern end of the county. The city had hoped a connection with the county's Navarre Beach wastewater treatment plant and HNWS would be a win-win for everyone because it would supply cheap reclaimed water to more customers, and would provide a less costly solution to the other utilities' growing capacity needs. 

The county and HNWS say the Eglin project is the most viable solution for the long-term wastewater disposal needs of the region.  

Annie Blanks can be reached at ablanks@pnj.com or 850-435-8632.