Newberry Mayor Jordan Marlowe said Newberry, High Springs, Archer and Trenton are near or at their wastewater capacity.
Marlowe on Thursday presented at the High Springs City Commission meeting a concept for one large wastewater facility. The High Springs City Commission unanimously favored continuing discussions of the wastewater facility concept.
Marlowe explained the regional facility would provide water and sewer connections to residents and would environmentally benefit each city.
“One of the benefits of this regional system is that you will be able to identify pockets of residents who are all on different sewers, all in different septic tanks,” Marlowe said. “We'll be able to offer them the opportunity to hook into a treatment facility, so we're going to be able to clean up a lot of these septic systems that are sprinkled in these rural areas.”
Marlowe said an advanced regional treatment facility is the cleanest, greenest way to go about handling sewer.
Marlowe said partnering to build a regional facility could reduce the cost for all four cities. The project is estimated at $15 to $20 million, a cost that could become more feasible if the cities split portions of it.
“When you’re looking at a $15 million to $20 million price tag, that’s just a tough nut to crack for cites our size,” he said.
Marlowe said city managers need to speak with project experts to figure out the project's next steps.