The existing City of Milton wastewater treatment plant currently discharges effluent directly into Blackwater River at its downtown location. City of Milton photo.
Before we continue moving forward on an expensive vision for one large wastewater treatment plant and continue to compete with the County for growth in East Milton, I would like to suggest an alternative, more affordable strategy to the current plan, which has proven to be poorly conceived. This proposed plan could build a better foundation for County support moving forward.
The original 24-acre site given to the City by the County was planned to be inside the wellfield protection zoning overlay and should not have ever been considered due to its proximity to the river, its slopes, and its highly erodible soils.
After listening to stakeholders and seeing the County moving forward with its own wastewater treatment plant in East Milton, ideas emerged which seem better suited toward preserving the long-term conservation goal of families along Blackwater River.
Most often, sewer expansion in an area where land owners have large tracts of land is welcomed because it lifts property value; however, we are now finding stakeholders along the south side of Blackwater River (including the State of Florida, the Estes family, and the Ates family) are threatened by the City of Milton’s current plan, which will disrupt long-term conservation strategies these landowners have been planning for years.
If we care about the river; why would we want to disrupt the current plan for long term conservation along the river funded by developers and controlled by local government?
Santa Rosa County is on the verge of creating a program which will allow developers to buy development rights from certain areas, like the area along the river, enabling perpetual conservation easements for those sensitive parcels while allowing increased density in other areas where homes would be more naturally located. In East Milton, the program would focus on protecting Blackwater River, Yellow River, and Nichols Creek.
Regarding the most critical matter at hand, getting the effluent out of the river, we can achieve that by spraying it behind the current County landfill. The distance is less than half the distance to the current planned spray fields! Additionally, that site would not diminish or raise land values based on the current use or future use. Soil types may not be as well drained, but there are over 800 acres available between the dump and the interstate. These parcels are owned by stakeholders whose investment timeline has matured.
Furthermore, landowners with property south of the Interstate 10 exit at the Bagdad have reached out and are receptive to selling dry land across the street from the County’s new, Triumph Gulf Coast funded 44-acre logistics and distribution park. The City of Milton could focus on developing the Bagdad exit in a more affordable way first, before upgrading services much farther away in East Milton.
Additionally, the County and City need to think carefully about how best to serve Naval Air Station Whiting Field and the Whiting Aviation Park. The military does not want to build, own, and operate a package plant there. Rather, the base prefers the City of Milton treat its wastewater.
Supporting Whiting Field is critical to our local economy, and the City of Milton has been the leader in protecting the base and should build a plant to serve Whiting Field and the Whiting Field Aviation Park to reduce the pressure on the County to come back in with another smaller plant to serve the Whiting area. Toward that end, three long-time landowners near Whiting Aviation Park have expressed a willingness to work with the City to protect the base and grow the aviation park.
The County and the City may find this type of “divide and conquer” strategy a much better platform for future teamwork and funding strategy diversification, and the City of Milton can still upgrade its service in East Milton when the timing is right.
The bottomline: Decentralizing our plant strategy is good for the river, more affordable, and includes three important growth areas. Everybody wins!
Mike Patterson, East Milton
