DeLand homeowners could soon see higher water and wastewater bills after city officials identified roughly $250 million in utility projects needed through 2036, from drinking-water-standard upgrades to aging pipe repairs and wastewater improvements affecting Blue Spring. The rate hike proposal goes before the DeLand City Commission on Monday, and it touches nearly every corner of the city's water system.
The proposed increase, first reported by ClickOrlando.com, would help fund a wastewater plant expansion, upgrades to meet new federal drinking water standards, and repairs to infrastructure that in some cases dates back decades. City officials have pointed to a wide-ranging list of capital needs that stretch a full decade into the future, according to the same report.
PFAS Contamination Forces Costly Fixes
PFAS Contamination Forces Costly Fixes Part of the pressure comes from chemistry, not just pipes. Proposed federal limits on PFAS add to the drinking-water upgrades facing DeLand.
Those fixes aren't optional. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized enforceable Safe Drinking Water Act rules in April 2024 setting maximum contaminant levels of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, with an initial compliance deadline in 2029, per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. DeLand draws its raw drinking water from 19 deep wells tapping the Floridan Aquifer, according to the City of DeLand, distributing nearly 1.8 billion gallons of treated groundwater to customers every year.
A Wastewater Plant Built for a Smaller City
Wastewater capacity is the other half of the equation. DeLand broke ground in December 2023 on an $83 million expansion of its Wiley M. Nash Water Reclamation Facility, a plant originally built in 1978, to raise its permitted daily treatment capacity from 6 million to 8 million gallons across an 80-square-mile service area serving 68,000 residents, according to DeLand Florida Economic Development. The upgrade swaps gaseous chlorine disinfection for ultraviolet treatment and adds four-stage biological nutrient removal, changes the Florida Department of Environmental Protection projects will cut annual total nitrogen discharges into Blue Spring by 146,177 pounds and phosphorus by 91,324 pounds.
The state has helped shoulder some of that cost. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection allocated $76 million toward the Nash facility expansion, combining a Clean Water State Revolving Fund low-interest loan with a Water Quality Improvement Grant, according to the agency.
Growth and State Law Add to the Bill
DeLand isn't just replacing worn-out equipment; it's also building for a bigger city than it used to be. The city's population grew 38.18% between 2010 and 2020, from 27,031 to 37,351 residents, according to Volusia County Government figures drawn from U.S. Census Bureau data. That growth has piled onto a system already facing a hard legal deadline: Florida Senate Bill 64, signed into law in June 2021, requires wastewater utilities statewide to eliminate all non-beneficial surface water discharges by January 1, 2032, forcing cities into advanced reclaimed water or aquifer recharge investments, per the Florida Senate.
Growth and State Law Add to the Bill DeLand isn't alone in feeling the squeeze. Deltona, its neighbor in Volusia County, tabled consideration of a proposed $44 million wastewater project. The pattern reflects a broader statewide reality: aging systems, tightening federal and state standards, and fast-growing populations are converging on Florida cities at once.
Water Politics Beyond the Rate Hike
Utility capacity has become a flashpoint elsewhere in Volusia County too. In August, the Volusia County Council voted to draft a permanent ban on large-scale data centers in unincorporated areas, citing resident concerns over the facilities' heavy water and power consumption, as Hoodline previously reported. DeLand's own aging infrastructure has made headlines before, including a water main break that tore open a street back in April.
The DeLand City Commission is set to take up the rate hike proposal on Monday, as the city addresses federal drinking water rules, the state's 2032 discharge deadline, and a wastewater system that was designed for a much smaller DeLand.
