Project Area
The project area is located in the City of Gulf Breeze along Highpoint Drive and includes residents on Valencia Street, Oviedo Street, Cordoba Street, Cadiz Street, and Madrid Avenue that are not on the central sewer system. The work includes surveying and design work on approximately 157 residential/private properties, as well as infrastructure in the rights of way. Coordination of right of entry agreements and work within residential properties will be required.
The City of Gulf Breeze selected Baskerville-Donovan, Inc., a local engineering firm, for the design of the Highpoint Drive Septic to Sewer Project. Their work includes surveying and design work on private properties as well as for infrastructure in the Santa Rosa County rights of way. This project will expand the existing centralized sewer system to the Highpoint Drive area of the City of Gulf Breeze.
The City Council and Mayor of the City of Gulf Breeze desire that every property within the City is connected to sewer. The City Council has approved an eight-year plan to achieve this goal. Using any available grants and low-cost federal funding available for environmentally favorable projects, the City hopes to make this process worry-free for its citizens. Construction costs will be covered through the city funds, grants, and federal funding mechanisms, and impact fees will be spread into manageable monthly payments on the sewer bill to reduce the financial burden normally experienced by these types of projects.
The project is currently funded through the revenues and capital funding mechanisms of the City of Gulf Breeze. Residents who wish to connect to the central sewer system must do so within the project connection commitment period. This project will consist of the installation of a sewer connection at each residence, the necessary equipment and pump station on your property, and the abandonment of existing septic systems.
Resident’s connecting through this project will only be required to pay impact fees, which are approximately $4,817. This amount may be paid in full upon connection or can be financed for up to ten years, interest-free, through the City of Gulf Breeze. The payment amount would be 35.95 per month and shown on your monthly bill. An estimated monthly sewer bill is approximately $20.10 per month, plus $5.09 per every 1,000 gallons of usage.
Representatives of Baskerville-Donovan will be on-site over the next few months collecting data for the sewer system design. The representatives are easily identified by bright-colored clothing with the company logo on the back. Each property owner will receive a Temporary Construction Easement (TCE) that will need to be completed and returned to Baskerville-Donovan, Inc. The TCE will be provided to residents at a later date.
The application period for your area will end on July 22, 2022, at which time any future connections will not be covered under the City’s Septic to Sewer Conversion Project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baskerville-Donovan, Inc. has extensive experience in Septic to Sewer projects and some questions are typical for projects of this nature. We have included some of the frequently asked questions below.
What is the project location?
The project work is located along the Highpoint Drive area including residents on Valencia Street, Oviedo Street, Cordoba Street, Cadiz Street, and Madrid Avenue not on the central sewer system and includes approximately 157 residential properties.
What is the project location?
The project work is on Soundside Drive from West Shores Boulevard to Oak Drive and Spruce Street and includes approximately 163 residential properties.
Who is eligible to connect to the central sewer system?
All property owners within the project limits who sign a Temporary Construction Easement are eligible.
Will property owners be required to connect to the sewer system?
Connection to the central sewer system is voluntary. All property owners are strongly encouraged to participate in the program but are not required to connect to the central sewer system.
What will it cost to connect to the central sewer system?
The project is funded through the revenues and capital funding mechanisms of the City of Gulf Breeze. Resident’s connecting through this project will only be required to pay impact fees, which are approximately $4,314. This amount may be paid in full upon connection or can be financed for up to ten years, interest-free, through the City of Gulf Breeze. The payment amount would be 35.95 per month and shown on your monthly bill. An estimated monthly sewer bill is approximately $20.10 per month, plus $5.09 per every 1,000 gallons of usage.
What if I don’t connect during the project connection commitment period?
Residents are not required to connect. If you decline connection and your septic system fails, you will be responsible for all cost associated with the mandatory connection to the central sewer, the cost of the grinder pump and the abatement of the on-site septic system.
What happens if a residence in the project area has both a ‘ septic tank’ and a ‘grey water septic tank’?
The piping for both tanks will be routed to one grinder pump station and both septic tanks will be abandoned. If there are major site constraints, potential other methods will be considered.
If we choose to get ‘upgrades’ to our lift stations, such as generator hookups, nicer lids, lid covers, etc., will those be part of the project or will those be out of pocket?
Additional modifications not required for a complete and operable system shall be the responsibility of the homeowner. The project will include a standard model pump station with selected accessories.
How will the grinder pumps work if we lose power?
The grinder pump stations will be designed with additional storage to allow for extended use of typical household plumbing during power outages. Low gallon uses such as toilet flushing and food preparation will not deplete the surplus storage quickly, while many high gallon uses, such as washing machines, will not be functioning during a power outage. It is recommended that other high uses, such as draining full baths, not be performed during power outages.
Follow up to the previous question: If we are able to pump using personal and/or portable generators following a regional loss of power, will the lift stations downstream be able to pump from there, or are we just shifting the problem?
In the event of a power outage, the receiving utility (GBRWS) has permanent backup generator power at some of their field lift stations, and all other lift stations have the ability for trailer-mounted generators to be deployed and connected as necessary to maintain pumping capability.
How much flexibility will we have in the location of our new grinder pump station in relation to any existing septic tanks?
Generally, the location of the grinder pump station will be somewhere along the existing wastewater discharge pipe between the home and the existing septic tank. The location along that pipe can often be adjusted as required to protect existing infrastructure or accommodate a homeowner’s preference. The final location will be based on the location of the discharge pipe, site constraints and power availability, as agreed upon by the Owner, City and Engineer.