April 28, 2023: Decades in the Making- Historic Project Will Revamp Water Distribution Through the Florida Keys

Source: Municipal Sewer & Water | Published: April 28, 2023

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. That would be the plight of many Florida Keys residents were it not for a 130-mile pipeline connecting their faucets to the Biscayne Aquifer in mainland Florida. In April, the water authority serving the Keys will begin a long-term project to upgrade the vital pipeline.

The Keys are a chain of islands that constitute the southernmost point of the United States. They have a tropical climate similar to Caribbean islands as well as native palm trees and practically no freshwater. The hundreds of thousands of annual visitors to Key West and nearby islands rely on water piped in by the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, which is headquartered in Key West.

Both the authority and the system have been dependable. “We lost water only one time that I remember, after a storm several years ago,” says Greg Veliz.

Veliz is a native of Key West who, except for some college years, has spent his entire life in and around the city. He worked for the city government for 16 years, including as city manager. Two years ago, he moved over to become executive director of the authority. As such, he’s responsible for the overall operation and management of the authority’s potable water and wastewater systems.

Urgent concern

This spring the authority will launch a decades-long modernization of the pipeline. It will involve replacing a 30-inch ductile iron pipeline with a 36-inch steel line that has been cathodically protected. The cathode treatment is a process in which an outer layer of the pipe is sacrificed to corrosion to insulate the core of the pipe against rust, enhancing its longevity.

Veliz says the cathode-treated pipe is a proven technology that ensures the waterline will be durable. “This new technology has a track record and we looked at that record before choosing it.” The steel pipe for the line will be made in the U.S., Veliz says.

The existing pipe’s 50-year life expectancy is nearing its end. That, coupled with some preventive repair work that Veliz says didn’t happen in a timely way, makes replacing the pipeline a fairly urgent concern. “It is what it is and now we must start putting in a new pipe.”

Replacement won’t happen overnight. In fact, incremental pipe work beginning this spring will continue for two or three decades before the makeover of the waterline is complete. The cost? Veliz threw out the sum of a billion dollars but only to make a point: It will be expensive.

What is known for sure is the tab for the first 4-mile increment is $42 million, which will be expended over the next two years. Some $35 million of that comes from state and federal grants, the rest from a low-interest loan. More grants will be sought to help fund future increments of the project.

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