By Bryan Nelson

One of the most important assets that we have in the Apopka area is our springs, including Wekiwa and Rock Springs, where thousands of families flock to swim, canoe and just relax along these beautiful pristine springs.  

Wekiwa and Rock Springs have a Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) that guides local governments to improve our water quality by reducing the nitrogen seeping into the springs.  

This plan, formulated in 2018, gives the local governments a 15-year plan to reduce the amount of nitrogen by 209,428 pounds/year. 

According to the BMAP: “Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems represent 29% of the estimated nitrogen loading to groundwater, urban turfgrass fertilizer (UTF) 26%, and wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) 16% of the total loading to groundwater based on the DEP analysis conducted using the Nitrogen Source Inventory Loading Tool (NSILT).”  

The BMAP area includes all of Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Ocoee, Winter Garden and parts of Orange County.  

In the first five years, the city met its obligation for a 30% reduction in nitrogen by putting our East Wastewater Plant on line, reducing the amount of nitrogen going out for reclaimed water from 10 parts per million (ppm) to about two ppm.  

This plant alone will reduce the amount of nitrogen percolating into the ground by 200,000 pounds per year. In the next five years, the BMAP area must reduce nitrogen by an additional 104,714 pounds and within the next five years after that an additional 209,428 pounds.  

The policies implemented by local governments must reduce nitrogen seeping into the groundwater by at least 311,612 pounds and hopefully 413,656 pounds. 

With financial help from St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), we implemented a program to replace standard septic tanks with Distributed Wastewater Treatment Systems (DWTS) in the Wekiva Glen neighborhood, our closest city neighborhood to Wekiwa Springs.  

With the cost share between the City of Apopka, SJRWMD and DEP, we have replaced 64 septic tanks with DWTS systems at a cost of 30% of conventional septic to sewer but with 70% of the nitrogen reducing benefit, a very cost-effective way to remove nitrogen without ripping up roads, sidewalks and generally disrupting the neighborhood.  

These units have already reduced the nitrogen seeping into the groundwater by over 5,000 pounds helping Apopka do its part to meet the BMAP guidelines.  

The city has recently received a grant to support a pilot project that will demonstrate that the DWTS systems can also reduce phosphorus from entering the groundwater.  

Although helpful with inland waterbodies, this innovation could have a significant impact on coastal waterbodies, which are much more susceptible to phosphorus pollution.  

Apopka is proud to be the first municipality to institute a DWTS program, and Lake County has followed our example and implemented its own countywide program. The city continues to look for innovative ways to improve our environment that will improve our quality of life.