Fort Lauderdale residents will no longer see yellow-tinted water flow from their taps, city leaders say.
A new $66 million plant began sending treated water into the city’s system last month and hosted an official opening celebration Thursday. The facility goes online following decades of resident concerns over water clarity and taste.
The Prospect Lake Clean Water Center, located west of the airport on Prospect Road, replaces the Fiveash Water Treatment Plant. Fiveash, built in 1953, could no longer meet the city’s long-term needs, said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis at Thursday’s event.
“The Prospect Lake Clean Water Center represents one of the largest infrastructure investments in our city’s history,” Trantalis said.
While Fiveash was held together by “rubber bands and spit,” he said, the new building can withstand a Category 5 hurricane. It’ll also pump 50 million gallons of water per day, compared to Fiveash’s 30 million, using an advanced nanofiltration and ion exchange treatment.
The plant was approved in 2023 in a divided 3-2 vote, with some city commissioners raising concerns at the time over the high price tag.
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Fort Lauderdale water customers will foot the $1.4 billion cost for the project over the course of a 30-year loan. Water rates will go up 9% through 2027, then level off to a 5% annual adjustment.
For some, the concerns went beyond money. People also asked whether the city’s pipe system would continue harming water clarity — regardless of the waters’ origin point. The city’s older pipes, made of iron, steel, concrete or clay, are more sensitive to corrosion than the modern PVC pipe.
Yet on Thursday, Mayor Trantalis said the city must first remove metals, chemicals and plastics from the water. Only then can it continue the ongoing process of replacing its pipes.
“We don't have old, rusted pipes that all these haters have been saying,” he said. “Our system is a system that is intact, that is safe, and the real source of the problems that we had started with the water treatment plant. Now, we no longer have that problem.”
Between 2023 and 2028, Fort Lauderdale expects to spend $54 million replacing water pipes. The city’s most recent water quality report showed its drinking water met all federal, state and local drinking water standards, despite its discoloration.
City leaders have remained confident that areas served by the plant — including Port Everglades and all or parts of Wilton Manors, Oakland Park, Tamarac, Davie, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Sea Ranch Lakes — will see clear water as the new plant transitions to take over the old one.
That’s because the Fiveash plant’s lime-softening treatment couldn’t remove organic material known as tannins, the compounds that give the water its yellow tint.
Fiveash also couldn’t remove contaminants like PFAS, which are long-lasting chemicals that have been linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.
Now, residents are already seeing the difference in clarity, said Matthew Allen, vice president and area manager for Cubic Water Facilities. He recalled kicking off the project years prior at a restaurant in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
“You’d see these signs in the bathroom warning of the yellow water,” he said. “They can start taking these signs down, and they don’t need to hand these out anymore,” he added as onlookers applauded. The mayor later walked up to the podium to rip up a water discoloration advisory notice taken from a nearby hotel.
The opening drew a large crowd of local elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, who, speaking inside an air-conditioned tent, remarked on the plant’s popularity.
“This is a pretty big crowd for what some would think is not the sexiest, most exciting project,” Wasserman Schultz said. “But there's nothing like having a problem with something as basic as your water out of your tap to get folks riled up and concerned."
Outside, the new plant loomed large with its silver silos and twisting metal staircases in the blazing Florida head. Some guests were led inside for tours of the facility, while others chatted over the sound of a live DJ set up in the tent.
The new water plant comes with a 30-year contract. After that, the city can decide whether to push upgrades.
