FORT PIERCE Moving the wastewater treatment plant from Hutchinson Island to Glades Cut-Off Road could take six years, cost $156 million, create nearly 600 jobs and increase customers bills by over $2 a month, according to a plan unveiled Monday.
The Fort Pierce Utilities Authority wastewater treatment plant could be moved off the Indian River Lagoon, where it s been for 62 years, to the Treasure Coast Energy Center by 2027, according to a six-year plan that calls for construction to begin 2024.
FPUA would pay 70%, or $109 million, while St. Lucie County would pay 30%, or $47 million, said Bo Hutchinson, FPUA s director of water and wastewater systems.
To defray those costs, monthly bills could increase an estimated $2.42 for the county s 9,000 customers and $2.13 for FPUA s 15,000 customers over the next five years.