The City of St. Petersburg is strengthening its Southwest Water Reclamation Facility as part of a $13 million thickening expansion project designed to enhance efficiency—and withstand future hurricanes.

The move follows last year’s storms, which exposed vulnerabilities in the city’s wastewater infrastructure. During Hurricane Helene, four out of five generators failed at the Northeast facility, while both the Northeast and Southwest facilities were evacuated during Hurricane Milton, leaving much of the city temporarily unable to shower or flush toilets.

In response, St. Pete launched its Agile Resilience Plan, or SPAR, earlier this year. Water Resources Director John Palenchar said the initiative is less a formal plan and more a proactive approach to building storm readiness into every utility project.

“It’s about being agile, being responsive, and making projects more resilient as we go,” Palenchar explained.

Upgrades are already underway citywide. At the Northeast and Northwest plants, crews are raising generators and electrical systems and installing deployable flood barriers ahead of hurricane season.

SPAR is also being integrated directly into the thickening expansion at the Southwest facility, which aims to improve how solids are processed after wastewater treatment.

“We’re increasing efficiency while also improving reliability—raising equipment and planning for storm surge,” said Palenchar, speaking at a public meeting Tuesday at the Sunshine Senior Center.

The city is evaluating site-specific flood protection options, including Aquafence, a type of deployable barrier that’s also being tested at Lift Station 85—the city’s largest, which failed during Hurricane Helene.

“We’re implementing those protections now,” Palenchar said. “Aquafence is being installed and tested at Station 85 as we speak.”

While the Southwest project is expected to wrap up in 2027, the city is already putting resiliency measures in place ahead of this year’s hurricane season.

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