Mayor Kenneth T. Welch, City Of St. Petersburg | City Of St. Petersburg website
Mayor Kenneth T. Welch, City Of St. Petersburg | City Of St. Petersburg website
The City of St. Petersburg has received its first Envision Award, recognizing efforts to enhance infrastructure sustainability and resilience through improvements at the Northwest Water Reclamation Facility. This award acknowledges the city's commitment to reliable and environmentally responsible infrastructure, particularly in water reclamation. St. Pete is among three Florida cities recognized for a wastewater project.
“The Envision Award is a respected milestone that reflects St. Pete’s dedication to integrating innovative solutions, prioritizing public health, and enhancing the city’s resilience against climate risks," stated Maeven Rogers, the City's Sustainability & Resilience Director. "This award sets a new benchmark for sustainable infrastructure in our community. St. Pete remains committed to building upon this progress and continuing to identify innovative ways to build a stronger, more sustainable, resilient future for all.”
Presented by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), the Envision Award honors projects demonstrating excellence in sustainability and resiliency by evaluating their environmental, social, and economic performance. The City used the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework for planning, design, construction, and operation of the project while employing third-party verification to validate sustainability efforts.
The Northwest Water Reclamation Facility serves St. Pete's Northwest Service Area with an annual average capacity of 20 million gallons per day. The improvement project aims to replace aging assets, improve service reliability, and mitigate wet weather overflows to enhance facility resiliency.
Key upgrades include replacing the influent pump station, adding a coarse screening facility, upgrading fine screens, installing an odor control system, and constructing two 7.5-million-gallon covered reject water storage tanks for retreatment to meet state regulations. Completion is expected by December 2025.
These enhancements are part of the St. Pete Agile Resilience Plan (SPAR), which adopts an accelerated approach to strengthening city infrastructure against climate challenges.
Further details on this project can be found at www.stpete.org/NWWRF.