A new $25 million wastewater treatment plant began operations in Starke last month and is now at work increasing the level of service to existing customers, protecting human health and the environment and preparing the city for future
economic development opportunity.
The city of Starke partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development to finance and fund the project.
Located near the National Guard Armory on Edwards Road, the new plant replaces an aged wastewater treatment facility that originally was built in the 1960s and was last upgraded in the 1990s. The existing facility struggled in recent years with effluent quality and the city was under order by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to invest in the facility and bring it up to current treatment standards.
The new plant features the latest technology in wastewater treatment that makes it far more efficient at removing total solids, nitrogen and phosphorus from the wastewater before treated effluent is discharged.
Chris Russell, project manager for Woodard and Curran, which operates the city of Starke’s wastewater treatment facilities, said the new technology goes by the name of “Bardenpho Oxidation Ditch,” which combines both aerobic, anoxic and anerobic zones within the same tank. The term “aerobic” refers to the presence of oxygen; “anaerobic” means “without oxygen.”
“In the old facility, we had two stages of treatment in one tank. With the new plant, we have five stages of treatment in the same tank,” Russell said. “At this point, we have been up and running for only a few days, but we are already seeing tremendous improvements in the quality of the effluent that is discharged from the facility.”
Starke’s treated wastewater is permitted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to be discharged into a seasonal sprayfield and the natural waterbody of Alligator Creek. Russell said the discharge to a natural water body “raises the bar” in terms of ensuring that nutrient levels are reduced to the level allowed by new technology.
Since Starke’s partnership with Woodard and Curran was launched in May 2023 to operate the city’s wastewater treatment facilities, the company has implemented a program of predictive and preventive maintenance. This will help extend the
life of the new plant and avoid major malfunctions in the future.
“Like many small cities which operate on tight budgets, the city of Starke used to be in ‘reactive mode,’ which means they fixed things when they were broken,” Russell said. “But when you are working with a complex system like a wastewater plant — with so many moving parts — a plan for predictive and preventative maintenance helps you avoid trouble before it even begins. And fortunately, predictive and preventative maintenance is part of the Woodard and Curran culture.”
“We are excited to finally have a new, more efficient plant that meets our current and future needs and allows us to be in full compliance with FDEP,” Drew Mullins, general manager for Starke utilities, said. “This project is many years in the making and we appreciate USDA-RD, Woodard and Curran, and our contractor Weiss Construction for making this a reality.”
