City of Fort Lauderdale staff told the Infrastructure Task Force on Monday that the city has closed an earlier water consent order and is negotiating new draft consent orders with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the water distribution network and for additional inflow-and-infiltration (I&I) work on the sewer system.

“My name is Abby Graham. I’m the assistant director,” Abby Graham said as she opened the presentation, summarizing the city’s consent‑order history and the department’s current negotiations. She told the panel the 2017 sewer consent order (amended in 2020) and a water consent order tied to a 2019 raw‑water line break have driven a multi‑year program of repairs and upgrades.

Why it matters: the consent orders require the city to inventory and repair aging infrastructure, reduce sanitary sewer overflows and improve system reliability. City staff said the most recent water consent order (OGC 16‑37) was closed after the city fulfilled mapping and valve‑inventory obligations and that an agreement addressing the broader water distribution network remains in draft.

Staff described the scope of the proposed water consent order as including a GIS‑based mapping database, an asset‑management assessment phase and multi‑year implementation to improve reliability. On the sewer side, staff said the new draft centers on a phased I&I reduction program and that the underlying 2017/2020 program now has a revised completion schedule with some deadlines extended to March 2027.

“It's a three‑year consent order after the consent order is in effect,” Graham said, describing the draft schedule and noting staff will provide assessment reports to FDEP.

Project status and capital work: senior project manager Gabrielle Bork reviewed capital projects tied to consent‑order compliance and emergency repairs. She said contractors are nearing completion on several force‑main replacements and are rehabilitating older mains so the system has redundancy. Work described included a NE 24‑inch force‑main replacement, multiple force‑main rehab efforts in Beverly Heights and Victoria Park, and Phase 3 of the 54‑inch effluent force‑main replacement tied to the city's injection wells at the GTL wastewater complex.

On backup power, staff said the 2020 amendment required standby generation to allow treatment plant operations during electrical outages. One emergency generator was installed in 2021–22 as an immediate measure; staff are installing four additional large generators to provide full backup power at GTL. Graham said supply‑chain issues and increased construction costs have driven schedule impacts and required FDEP to approve a completion extension.

Contract, liability and mapping issues: staff clarified internal versus external systems. CityWorks is the city’s internal asset‑management and work‑order system; the statewide Sunshine 811 ticketing system is used by contractors to locate underground utilities before digging. Gary, the distribution system manager, said the CityWorks data is for internal use and the 811 ticket is required before excavation work begins.

On liability from contractor hits, staff said they will reexamine cost‑recovery practices. Committee members asked whether penalties apply for failing to call 811; staff said state penalties were discussed in the meeting and referenced a roughly $10,000 minimum statutory fine as a baseline for violations and that the city will pursue recovery of its response costs where appropriate.

Legal and litigation notes: committee members asked about the 2019 airport incident in which a subcontractor drilled through a 54‑inch raw water pipe. Staff confirmed that litigation resulting from that incident has been settled and that the event helped prompt the water consent‑order negotiations.

Program metrics: staff reported the 2017/2020 program encompassed 76 milestones, of which 71 are completed; 54 were completed ahead of schedule. Staff said remaining projects remain on schedule though some completion dates were extended to accommodate material and tariff delays.

Committee follow‑up: members requested continued regular updates tying milestone status to schedule and budget, and asked staff to provide additional documentation of mapping and asset‑management progress. With a new utilities director now on staff, the panel asked that the utilities team continue to brief the task force as negotiations with FDEP proceed.

Ending: staff said the city will continue negotiating draft consent orders with FDEP and will return with more detailed reports and deliverables as assessment and implementation work proceeds.