Septic Conversion Program
Since the City embarked on the unparalleled Sewer Expansion Program 25 years ago , Port St . Lucie ’ s corporate limits have expanded from 80 square miles to 120 square miles , with a population of 214,000 and growing .
Because of new construction requirements , more than 27,700 septic tanks were never installed , and more than 9,200 aging and / or failing septic tanks have been taken out of service .
To date , the new grinder pump installations have diverted more than 20 billion gallons of wastewater to the treatment facilities , whereas without the new low-pressure systems , the wastewater would have gone to septic tanks with a possibility of leaching into the community ’ s ground waters .
More than 14,000 septic systems are still in service within the City ’ s Utility Service Area , and monitoring their locations , particularly the ones located within 50 feet of a waterway , prompted the Utility to conduct an analysis in 2017 . As residential conversions are completed , the location map is updated for continued monitoring .
Utility Systems continues to convert remaining residential septic systems upon their failure or the homeowner ’ s desire to connect to City sewer . And as this innovative program has been expanding since 1994 , the area ’ s natural water resources are even more protected , minimizing the potential for contamination from septic systems . Residents , visitors , City staff , City Council and state and federal officials are extremely passionate about the health and well-being of this community and the beautiful North Fork of the St . Lucie River which bisects it . They support efforts to keep septic tank leakage from seeping into shallow aquifer wells and groundwater which leads to the river .
6 Water Quality Initiatives | City of Port St . Lucie