Wastewater Treatment Plant #2 Update

Proactive Measures

The City of Mount Dora has taken several proactive measures to improve the quality of the operation of Waste Water Treatment Plant #2 (WWTP #2) located at SR 46 and US HWY 441:

  • In August 2023, the City added a new chemical process tank and technology to neutralize the hydrogen sulfide levels in the sewage entering Wastewater Treatment Plant #2. This process combined with a $500K carbon bio-filter the City installed in the summer of 2022, has reduced the hydrogen sulfide gas exiting the headworks to less than one part per million (ppm).
  • The City also purchased portable hydrogen sulfide (H2S) monitors, which have been in use since mid-March 2023. The monitors are set to alert the user of readings of 10 ppm or higher. Staff has set up a system to log the monitor alerts.  To date, there have been no alerts reported.
  • Additionally, the City installed odor loggers at the fence lines to accurately measure any Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) emissions leaving the plant. Since their installation in April 2023, the highest reading recorded is 2.8 parts per million, well below the OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL).
  • The City also installed a weather station to track measurements related to temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation amounts. This helps staff better evaluate if complaints of odor are in fact coming from the direction of the plant.
  • In November 2023, City Council approved the purchase of four SludgeKing 30 cubic yard roll off dewatering boxes. Two will be installed at WWTP #2 to replace existing dewatering boxes that are nearing the end of their useful life. SludgeKing is a unique dewatering box technology offering 33% more filtration area.

Odor Logger Fence Line Readings

April
Average
High		May 
Average
High
June
Average
High
July
Average
High
August 
Average
High
September
Average
High
October
Average
High
November 
Average
High

Future Measures 

At the November 7, 2023 meeting, City Council entered into a Consent Order with the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection to resolve community concerns and responsibly plan for the future.

City Council also approved an annual allocation of $100,000 in the 2023-24 fiscal year to maintain the chemical tank and technology in addition to the purchase of the chemicals.