Construction to begin on $293M Lee County wastewater plant

After years of planning, construction is set to begin Sept. 25 on a new water treatment plant designed to meet the future needs of fast-growing southeastern Lee County and surrounding areas.

The Southeast Advanced Wastewater Reclamation Facility will sit east of Interstate 75 between Alico and Corkscrew roads. Lee commissioners authorized construction manager Wharton-Smith Inc. to begin the work.

“This is quite an accomplishment for the county,” Lee Public Utilities Director Pamela Keyes said.

Commissioner David Mulicka described the project’s $293.2 million cost as “staggering,” but noted, along with two other commissioners at the Aug. 19 meeting, that the budget still came in $4.7 million below the guaranteed maximum price. Commissioners Kevin Ruane and Mike Greenwell were absent.

County staff told commissioners that earlier estimates had pegged costs for the plant at well over $300 million. It will be constructed on a 112-acre property in several phases, with work scheduled for completion in early 2029. Lee County will pay for it year by year throughout the construction period with sewer capacity fees and new bond revenue.

The wastewater treatment plant is expected to process up to 6 million gallons per day after the first phase of construction is complete and 10 million gallons per day at full expansion. It also will create additional capacity at Three Oaks Water Reclamation Facility, which is experiencing increased demand.

The new advanced facility produces higher quality water by removing nutrients in addition to other components, according to the county’s project website. The treated water is safe to use for landscape irrigation, helps lessen the demand for potable drinking water and improves water quality in local waterways.

The facility came into the picture as the county planned for population growth. It acquired land for the treatment plant in 2018, and design work started in 2022.

“We’re taking this land that was destroyed by farming to obviously provide utilities for future residents, to help (with) the water resources and the aquifer out there,” Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass said.

Meanwhile, development surged along the corridor. It now includes existing and proposed residential and commercial communities that total 32,937 planned units, a Lee County staff presentation showed.

Several developments in the area are being built by Cameratta Cos. The largest is Kingston, a master-planned community between Corkscrew Road and State Road 82 that will include 10,000 homes and 700,000 square feet of commercial space on 6,700 acres. More than half of the land is planned for permanent preservation. Cameratta also developed Verdana Village and The Place at Corkscrew. Another nearby project, WildBlue, is expected to include 1,096 homes and 40,000 square feet of retail space at full buildout.