Wagner Creek, a narrow Allapattah tributary long known for stubbornly dirty water, is getting a quiet assist from a new gadget: a small, solar-powered machine that behaves a bit like a floating vacuum for pollution. Miami officials say that during a yearlong pilot, the device sharply cut bacterial levels in the creek, using ionized air and filters to kill bacteria while offering a cheaper, more flexible option than the city's larger decontamination vessel.
What Officials Deployed And Who Built It
The yellow, manifold-style units were developed by Miami-based Fast Cleaning Solutions and supplied to the Miami River Commission at no cost for a one-year trial, according to commission chair Horacio Stuart Aguirre. As reported by WPLG Local 10, Aguirre likened the machines to household robotic vacuums, describing a long manifold with multiple heads that pump oxygenated, ionized air into the water while filters work to bring down bacteria levels.
Pilot Data That Got City Hall’s Attention
Staff with the Miami River Commission compared water samples taken before the devices went in and after, and the numbers got their attention. During the pilot, which officials say ran from April 2024 through March 2025, E. coli concentrations dropped by about 82 percent and enterococci fell roughly 76 percent. According to Miami Today, the machines are designed for tight spots like Wagner Creek that the city's larger decontamination vessel cannot reach, and the commission is now pushing for a broader rollout.
City Review And The Funding Ask
The concept landed at City Hall as a discussion item on April 9, listed on the City of Miami agenda. The Miami River Commission is asking to expand the trial into a small fleet of cleaning units paired with monitoring stations, at an estimated cost of about $360,000 for one year, according to WPLG Local 10.
Why Wagner Creek Matters
Wagner Creek has a long track record of testing far above state safety thresholds for bacteria, fueling years of talk about dredging and cleanup plans. Records from the Miami River Commission show bacterial spikes climbing into the tens of thousands of colony-forming units per 100 milliliters, one reason the commission has been eager to try a targeted, relatively low-profile fix.
City Manager James Reyes told Miami Today that Miami is reviewing the proposal and plans to meet with the company to go over procurement options. Commission leaders say they want a funding plan lined up before the next city budget process, and if the compact solar units keep delivering similar results in additional testing, they see the devices as a potential tool for other narrow tributaries that the big cleaning vessel cannot reach.
