CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) — During their first meeting of 2026, Wakulla County commissioners discussed multiple water and sewer projects.
- They approved agenda items involving lift stations in Panacea, drinking water at Newport Campground, and a septic-to-sewer project at Lake Ellen.
- Commissioner Ralph Thomas says the county is working to improve outdated infrastructure and keep pollutants out of Wakulla Springs.
- Watch the video below to learn more about the proposed projects.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
New water and sewer projects are coming to Wakulla County.
I'm Serena Davanzo, your Crawfordville neighborhood reporter.
I'll show you what county commissioners approved during their first meeting of the year and how it could impact this community.
Commissioners discussed around 18 items on Monday.
They voted to begin negotiations with Halff Associates about retrofitting five lift stations in Panacea.
Commissioner Ralph Thomas says it's important to update those stations to prevent damage.
"We've had problems in the past where some of the lift stations would leak, or, in flood conditions the rainwater would penetrate them and flood the system and flood back out," explained Ralph Thomas, Wakulla County Commissioner. "So we have to make sure we stay on top of that, to make sure that they're all functioning at their top performance."
Two other items involved submitting loan applications to the state revolving fund loan program.
One application could help fund improvements to the drinking water system at the Newport Campground.
Thomas argues those updates could attract more visitors to the park.
The other loan could support the Lake Ellen septic-to-sewer project.
That project would take around 403 homes in the Lake Ellen area and replace the separate septic tanks with a full public water system.
"With the same hardware and infrastructure, you can take a whole lot more more homes off, a lot more septic tanks off, and you can now treat that water," said Thomas. "Our standards are advanced wastewater treatment standards, so when that water goes through the plant, it's clean. It's almost drinking water quality, and so it's cleaner than any home septic system is going to do by itself."
According to the EPA, if a septic system is not functioning properly, it can affect ground and spring water. Neighbors have shared concerns in the past about how those systems could impact Wakulla Springs.
"We're trying to eliminate as many as we can. We're trying to have the minimal impact on the springs that we can," said Thomas. "The state, several years ago, implemented what's called the BMAP, the Basin Management Action Plan, and it establishes thresholds for nitrogen that's coming out of Wakulla Springs."
Commissioner Thomas says the county leaders want to do everything they can to eliminate pollutants that may end up in our springs and groundwater.
In Crawfordville, Serena Davanzo, ABC 27.
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