WHAT THE HECK IS FL SENATE BILL 64--AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

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Florida Senate Bill 64 and You

What is Senate Bill 64?

Florida Senate Bill 64 (SB64) was passed in 2021, and relates to reclaimed water. This law basically requires wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) or water reclamation facilities (WRFs) to eliminate "nonbeneficial surface water discharges."

Most WTPs and WRFs currently discharge at least some of their effluent to surface waters - rivers and lakes. (About two-thirds of all combined discharges are non-beneficial). 

While this treated effluent may not be "beneficial," it must meet antidegradation law. The effluent discharged cannot degrade the water quality of the receiving stream. Samples are collected upstream and downstream regularly to ensure no degradation occurs. 

In addition WRFs must meet strict permit limits on removal of contaminants.

SB64 will require these discharges from WRFs to be eliminated by January 1, 2032. The way to eliminate a surface water discharge is to either inject the effluent deep into the ground (deep well injection)--or reuse the effluent. Reuse will require advanced treatment methods depending on how the reclaimed water will be used. 

About 170 WRFs that currently discharge to surface waters will need to be modified and upgraded to provide reclaimed water for irrigation, groundwater recharge, industrial reuse, and potable reuse or pumped into deep injection wells.

The Need for Water Reuse

The reuse of reclaimed water is an important part of ensuring Florida has sufficient water supply for our millions of residents, businesses and tourists - plus the additional folks who are moving into the state. 

However, reusing all WRF effluent can be challenging. Irrigation seems like the most logical use, but during the rainy season nobody wants it. Trying to store millions of gallons of reuse until the weather changes would require huge storage tanks. Most utilities will be moving towards multiple reuse methods, including groundwater recharge, wetland enhancement and indirect or direct potable reuse.

Reuse is Good, So Why Should You Care

Reuse of reclaimed water is definitely good for the preservation of our water resources. However, putting a deadline for reuse of all WRF effluent in a short time period (2032 sounds far away - but huge engineering and construction projects take years) puts a lot of pressure on utilities to make large-impact decisions that cost huge dollars.

Because numerous utilities are trying to meet this deadline, engineers and contractors are extremely busy, which means costs go up. Also, equipment delivery is often a problem when there are a large amount of these projects at once.

In addition, reclaimed water treatment is much more intensive and expensive from an operations standpoint.

For the residents and businesses, this means costs will go up. (Even so, water is still one of the cheapest essential commodities you'll find).

Possible Modifications 

Utilities are working to meet the SB64 requirements and coming up with innovative ways to not only reuse water but educate the public as well. At the recent Florida Water Reuse Summit, attendees toured solutions that our large utility in Florida, JEA, is implementing. Their new H2.O Purification Facility will augment the Floridan Aquifer with one million gallons per day of indirect potable reuse. They are also conducting a pilot study on a wetland recharge project.

The Florida Council of 100 has suggestions for implementing this bill, including a more flexible schedule, promoting aquifer recharge as a strategy, considering the disproportionate impact on smaller utilities and investing in public relations. You can read a copy of their research conclusions here. 


SB64 will certainly bring about some new techniques and technologies for future ways to reclaim water.



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