After years of reclaimed-water pressure problems affecting neighborhoods across northern Apopka, the city has secured nearly $5.8 million in state funding to address a missing pipeline connection that officials say has restricted water delivery to thousands of households.
The $5,784,615 grant, announced Wednesday as part of a statewide water infrastructure funding initiative, will cover the entire cost of installing a new 30-inch reclaimed-water transmission main along Plymouth Sorrento Road.
The City of Apopka confirmed to News 6 that the project will directly address a missing connection between West Lester Road and West Ponkan Road, improving pressure, water flow and reliability for existing customers, particularly during peak irrigation periods.
The city says the state will cover 100% of the project’s cost, with no local matching funds required. However, the grant will not change the utility-rate increases that took effect earlier this month.
Construction is expected to begin in September 2027, with completion anticipated in May 2028.
For some homeowners, the announcement represents a long-awaited opportunity to address a frustrating problem they’ve been dealing with for years.
‘Just spray the lawn green’
In Apopka’s Rock Springs Ridge neighborhood, Linda Matthews has watched patches of her lawn struggle because her sprinkler system doesn’t always receive enough reclaimed-water pressure to provide adequate coverage.
After approximately six years living in the neighborhood, Matthews says the problem has become an unwelcome part of maintaining her property.
She has even considered an unconventional solution.
“Just spray the lawn green. Just paint it, you know?” Matthews joked during an interview with News 6.
Behind the humor is a problem that can cost homeowners money.
Matthews explained that when the reclaimed-water pressure drops, her sprinklers don’t reach as far as they’re supposed to. That leaves parts of the grass without enough irrigation.
“Then you’ve got dry areas which tend to brown up,” Matthews said.
She estimates the problem may have persisted for a couple of years, although she couldn’t say exactly when it began.
The consequences go beyond appearances.
Like many planned communities, Rock Springs Ridge has homeowners association expectations for property maintenance, adding another layer of frustration when residents cannot consistently water their lawns.
Matthews says replacing damaged grass can become expensive, especially when homeowners must purchase new sod or pay someone to install it.
“It does run into a lot of money when you keep replacing the grass,” she said.
And with utility rates also increasing, she hopes the city’s newly funded infrastructure project will eventually provide some relief.
Mayor: ‘We have plenty to serve our residents. We just have choke points’
Apopka Mayor Nick Nesta told News 6 that the problem isn’t necessarily a lack of available reclaimed water.
Instead, he says it’s a distribution system that hasn’t adequately kept pace with the city’s growth.
“We have plenty to serve our residents. We just have choke points,” Nesta said.
According to the mayor, reclaimed water must travel through a network of pipelines to reach northern neighborhoods. Some of those pipes become progressively smaller, restricting how much water can move through the system.
When irrigation demand increases, those restrictions can contribute to pressure problems.
Nesta acknowledged that the issue has affected northern Apopka for years.
“Aging and older infrastructure that wasn’t planned out properly for the increase in new residents and new households that we need to serve,” he said, describing the underlying problem.
The mayor says the newly funded pipeline will create an additional connection rather than simply replacing an existing pipe.
The goal is to eliminate one of the system’s bottlenecks, improve distribution and help move more reclaimed water to neighborhoods where pressure has been inconsistent.
The project will also work alongside another pipeline improvement the city already had planned and budgeted, according to Nesta.
He said the projects together are intended to strengthen the city’s northern reclaimed-water system.
Where will the nearly $5.8 million go?
In detailed written responses to News 6, Apopka officials provided new information about exactly how the state money will be spent.
The project will install approximately 5,600 linear feet of new 30-inch reclaimed-water transmission pipe along Plymouth Sorrento Road.
The pipeline will:
- Begin at West Lester Road and extend north to West Ponkan Road.
- Connect existing reclaimed-water pipelines at both ends.
- Create a more continuous transmission network.
- Improve the movement of reclaimed water toward northern storage facilities.
- Increase the system’s ability to meet periods of heavy irrigation demand.
The city describes this as a project that will “close the loop” between portions of its reclaimed-water network that are not currently connected by this segment.
Most of the pipe will be installed using open-trench construction, which involves excavating along the proposed route.
At major roadway crossings, crews are expected to use horizontal directional drilling, a construction technique that allows pipes to be installed underground without continuously opening a trench across the roadway.
The pipeline will also help improve the movement of reclaimed water toward the Golden Gem Reclaimed Water Facility and storage tanks at the Northwest Recreation Center.
City officials say the additional transmission capacity will help replenish those storage facilities during periods when demand is especially high.
The result, the city hopes, will be a more efficient network capable of delivering reclaimed water where and when customers need it.
Which Apopka neighborhoods will benefit?
While the new pipeline is being built along Plymouth Sorrento Road, its intended benefits extend beyond properties immediately alongside the construction route.
The city specifically identified Wekiva Run and Ridgebrook, particularly in the area north of West Lester Road, as neighborhoods expected to experience improvements.
During his interview with News 6, Nesta also pointed to Rock Springs Ridge, one of the city’s larger residential neighborhoods.
He said he personally experienced water-related service issues while living in that community.
The mayor estimated that the project, together with other planned system improvements, could ultimately benefit thousands of households.
“Thousands of households,” Nesta said when asked about the potential impact.
However, the mayor did not provide an exact number of customers, and the city’s written response did not include a specific household count or a numerical estimate of how much water pressure will improve.
The city’s anticipated benefits include more stable reclaimed-water pressure, improved flow during peak irrigation periods and more reliable service for residential and commercial customers.
Officials also emphasized that the project is not designed to install individual reclaimed-water connections for households that have never had the service.
Instead, the primary purpose is to strengthen the existing network.
That additional capacity could also help accommodate future residential and commercial development along the corridor.
What does this mean for utility bills?
The state grant comes less than two months after Apopka commissioners approved higher utility rates.
On Sept. 2, the City Commission unanimously approved a 6% increase for water, sewer and reclaimed-water service, along with a 6.5% increase for garbage collection.
Those higher rates took effect Oct. 1.
At the time, city officials cited operating expenses, capital projects and increasing costs as reasons for the adjustments.
Read News 6’s earlier coverage of Apopka’s utility-rate increases.
With nearly $5.8 million in new funding now available, News 6 asked whether the grant would reduce the city’s expenses, eliminate the need for borrowing or affect what residents pay.
The city’s response was that the grant covers the entire project cost and requires no matching funds.
It also said the project will not require additional utility borrowing.
But the funding does not change previously approved utility rates or revenue requirements.
In other words, customers will not receive a rate reduction because of this grant, but the city says the pipeline’s construction costs will ultimately be covered by the state rather than through additional local utility funding.
Nesta provided an additional explanation of how the financing will work.
He said Apopka already has money included in its capital improvement plans to begin the project and will initially front the expenses using impact fees.
The city will then be reimbursed through the state grant.
“We already budgeted for this. It’s in there. We don’t have to do any budget amendments,” Nesta said.
He added that reimbursements could be requested quarterly as money is spent or potentially in one lump sum.
Impact fees are generally charges associated with new development that help fund infrastructure needed to accommodate growth.
The arrangement means Apopka will initially advance the money, but the state grant is expected to reimburse the city’s eligible project expenses.
The city says that will allow it to complete a major infrastructure improvement without adding a new financial burden to utility ratepayers.
Why does reclaimed water matter?
The project also has a broader environmental purpose.
Reclaimed water is wastewater that has been treated so it can be reused for certain purposes, including landscape irrigation.
It is different from the drinking water delivered to kitchen faucets, showers and other household plumbing fixtures.
By using reclaimed water for irrigation, communities can reduce their reliance on drinking-quality water and groundwater supplies for uses that don’t require potable water.
Apopka officials say the new pipeline is expected to help reduce dependence on supplemental groundwater withdrawals.
That is especially important as Central Florida continues to grow and demand for water increases.
The city also plays a role in a larger regional reclaimed-water network.
Nesta described Apopka as a central connection in ongoing efforts involving the St. Johns River Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and neighboring municipalities.
He discussed partnerships involving Altamonte Springs and potential future coordination with communities including Ocoee and Mount Dora.
The mayor also described a longer-term vision of moving reclaimed water from portions of Seminole County toward Apopka through an interconnected regional system.
Those broader connections remain long-term goals rather than work being funded directly by this particular grant.
For the Plymouth Sorrento Road project, the environmental benefit is more immediate: improving the city’s ability to move and reuse reclaimed water it already has available.
Another piece of a larger infrastructure overhaul
Nesta told News 6 the new pipeline is one part of a broader effort to modernize Apopka’s utility infrastructure.
He described another planned pipeline project that will run parallel to the newly funded improvements, with additional connecting lines intended to address existing system limitations.
He also pointed to a new valve-testing program involving a third-party contractor, which is designed to help the city determine whether its water-system valves are functioning properly.
The mayor acknowledged that Apopka has a mixture of older infrastructure and newer equipment installed to accommodate development.
That means completing the new pipeline won’t necessarily eliminate every future infrastructure problem.
He compared maintaining the city’s utility network to owning a home where replacing one major component doesn’t guarantee that something else won’t eventually need repairs.
The larger objective, Nesta said, is to identify problems earlier and plan for them instead of constantly responding to failures.
“The more that I can be proactive versus reactive, it’s gonna save us money and time,” he said.
When will residents actually see improvements?
Although the grant has been awarded, homeowners shouldn’t expect the pressure problems to disappear immediately.
According to the city’s current schedule:
Now through 2027: The city must complete project design, planning and other preparations.
September 2027: Construction is expected to begin along Plymouth Sorrento Road.
May 2028: The city anticipates completing the project.
That means the pipeline is currently more than a year away from its scheduled completion.
News 6 asked the mayor why construction is not expected to begin sooner.
Nesta acknowledged the long wait and said he would prefer an earlier start.
“I’d like to start much sooner than that,” he said, explaining that engineering design and other stages take time.
He said his goal is to have the right team in place to move infrastructure projects forward more efficiently and, where possible, ahead of schedule.
However, the city has not announced a revised construction start date.
Once work begins, residents and drivers should expect some temporary disruptions along the corridor.
The city anticipates localized lane shifts and short-term road closures associated with construction.
Officials say traffic plans will be coordinated with Orange County and communicated to the public before work begins.
The city has not yet provided a detailed traffic-control schedule identifying specific closure dates or locations.
Part of a $100 million statewide investment
Apopka’s grant is part of a broader $100 million water infrastructure funding announcement made Wednesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s announcement, the funding will support 45 projects across the state.
The state divided the money between two programs.
The Springs Restoration Grant Program received $50 million for 23 projects focused on improving water quality, reducing pollution and protecting Florida’s springs.
Another $50 million was awarded through the Alternative Water Supply Grant Program for 22 projects designed to expand alternative water sources, encourage conservation and reduce dependence on traditional freshwater supplies.
Apopka’s transmission-pipeline project is among those alternative water supply investments.
State officials say the 22 projects collectively are expected to help provide more than 60 million gallons of water per day through alternative water supply initiatives once completed.
The state has identified reclaimed-water expansion as an important part of meeting Florida’s long-term water needs.
For Apopka, the funding represents an opportunity to address an existing infrastructure deficiency while preparing the city for continued growth.
For homeowners, the question is how soon relief will arrive
Back in Rock Springs Ridge, the infrastructure discussions come down to a much simpler concern for Matthews.
She wants her sprinkler system to work well enough to keep her lawn healthy without repeatedly dealing with dry patches, landscaping expenses and homeowners association expectations.
Her experience illustrates what city officials acknowledge has become a recurring problem for parts of northern Apopka.
The newly awarded grant means funding has been identified for a major component of the solution.
What remains to be seen is how quickly construction can move forward, whether the completed system delivers the anticipated improvements and how noticeable those changes will be for homeowners.
For now, Matthews says getting the work done sooner would be welcome news.
“That would be great. That really would be good,” she said.
And until the city’s planned improvements translate into more reliable irrigation pressure, her suggestion about painting the lawn green remains a humorous reminder of a problem some residents say they’ve been living with for years.
More information: Residents can review the Florida DEP’s official $100 million water funding announcement and News 6’s previous reporting on Apopka utility rates.