ST. PETE BEACH — The city is scrambling to address a wastewater system crisis that has been years in the making, after spending $2.7 million less than consultants recommended on essential repairs to aging infrastructure.
Saltwater intrusion into the city’s 70-year-old pipes has caused chlorine levels to spike so high that St. Petersburg can no longer consistently produce reclaimed water from St. Pete Beach’s sewage — a violation of the city’s treatment contract.
The problem stems from the city’s failure to follow through on repair recommendations dating to 2017, Public Services Director Camden Mills told city commissioners at a Sept. 22 meeting.
A 2017 consultant study found that 62% of the city’s underground wastewater pipes needed rehabilitation, with 25 percent requiring specific repairs. The consultant recommended spending nearly $5.8 million over five years to bring the system up to industry standards.
Instead, the city invested far less each year than recommended, leaving the infrastructure vulnerable to saltwater intrusion that has steadily worsened since 2021.
“What we invested and actually put in the ground hasn’t matched what the recommendations are to get into compliance with industry standards,” Mills told commissioners.
The shortfall has real consequences beyond St. Pete Beach’s borders.
“It’s important to note that many days the city of St Petersburg Northwest Treatment Plant is not able to produce reclaimed water,” Mills said. “When we send our wastewater to St. Petersburg, they treat that and distribute that out to their customers as reclaimed water, so when we are exceeding those limits (of chlorine) it puts the burden on them to be able to provide that reclaimed water to their customers.”
The city’s wastewater system, built mostly between 1954 and 1957, includes 38.7 miles of gravity sewer lines and 864 manholes. It sends 2.62 million gallons daily to St. Petersburg’s treatment plant.
St. Petersburg first notified St. Pete Beach about elevated chloride levels in January 2024, identifying the problem at lift stations 4 and 5 in the Pass-a-Grille area, which handle flow from everything south of 21st Avenue.
The city has exceeded its wastewater allocation during rainy months in August, September and October 2024, and again in August 2025. Chloride concentrations have been climbing since 2021.
Mills noted that much of the original 1950s infrastructure remains in place, and “we do not know the full extent or condition of the lateral lines.”
Repair timeline
The city now plans $3.9 million in wastewater improvements over the next five years, followed by another $4 million from 2031 to 2042. This year alone, the city will spend $2 million annually on wastewater inspection and cleaning.
Mills said the city will also notify developers about chlorine concentration levels and work with St. Petersburg to determine whether new development can be approved on a project-by-project basis.
The city is also evaluating connection fees for new developments as part of an ongoing fee study.
Commissioner Lisa Robinson expressed frustration about the situation during the Sept. 22 meeting.
“I’m disturbed by this whole thing, because I don’t understand how and why this happened. We had the reports back in 2016, and what happened in 2021, why were we not getting any reports from St Petersburg?” Robinson said. “How could this happen and how could we prevent it from happening in the future.”
Robinson added that “prior administrations must have known this and we have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
She said the crisis raises questions about the city’s capacity for new development: “We’re at a situation now where it’s not about physical capacity it’s about functionality, and what can the city handle from a functionality standpoint for all this development.”
Robinson said residents deserve to know who was aware of the deteriorating conditions.
Mills, who has been with the city slightly more than a year, said addressing the infrastructure problems is essential for the city’s goal of providing reliable sanitary sewer service “for orderly growth and expansion.”
“In order to achieve this goal it’s pretty evident that significant investment is needed,” he said.
