Winter Haven seeks $6.9m for Pollard Road alternative water supply hub

Winter Haven seeks $6.9m for Pollard Road alternative water supply hubWinter Haven City Commission approved a consent agenda on 15 September that ratified applications for Protecting Florida Together funding for a regional-water receiving facility and two Lower Floridan wells. The projects form part of a planned $66 million Pollard Road Water Production Facility.

The city is seeking $4.9 million towards infrastructure to receive, treat and distribute Polk Regional Water Cooperative alternative water supply at Pollard Road.

A second application seeks $2 million, or 50% of the estimated $4 million cost, to construct Lower Floridan Aquifer wells PR3 and PR4.

The Pollard Road Water Production Facility is planned to begin at 3.9mgd and have a 7.2mgd design capacity by 2045, with 4.0MG of storage capacity stated in the grant applications.

Winter Haven’s FY2027 budget includes approximately $141 million of water and sewer capital improvements, including two new water production facilities and a renovated and expanded wastewater plant.

Winter Haven has moved to pursue $6.9 million in Florida grant support for a new Pollard Road water-supply hub designed to take regional alternative water supply and develop Lower Floridan Aquifer production. The City Commission approved its consent agenda unanimously on 15 September, ratifying two Protecting Florida Together Alternative Water Supply grant applications that had already been submitted ahead of the 1 September state deadline. The larger request seeks $4.9 million for infrastructure at the planned Pollard Road Water Production Facility (WPF) to receive, treat and distribute raw water supplied by the Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC). The total construction cost for the WPF is estimated at $66 million, with Winter Haven identifying $61.1 million as its local commitment. Polk County and 15 municipal governments formed the PRWC to develop alternative supplies. Winter Haven is scheduled to receive 4.17mgd from the cooperative, including 1.65mgd for distribution to Auburndale and 1.0mgd for Lake Alfred. The supply will originate at a new Lake Wales facility and move through a 63-mile transmission main to participating members’ receiving facilities. The city’s grant application describes the Pollard Road plant as a 3.9mgd initial facility, expandable to 7.2mgd by 2045. It is planned to provide 4.0MG of storage and to serve as the receiving point for PRWC water, Lower Floridan supplies and potential future direct potable reuse from the adjacent Pollard Road Water Resource Facility. A separate $2 million request covers half of the estimated $4 million construction cost for two additional Lower Floridan wells, PR3 and PR4. Two of the four planned wells, PR1 and PR2, have been constructed and completed testing, while construction of the remaining wells is scheduled to start in January 2027. The application identifies a 31 January 2027 construction start and a 1 January 2028 end date for the two wells. The grant materials state that Winter Haven’s current potable supply is entirely derived from the Upper Floridan Aquifer. The city said the Lower Floridan wells and PRWC deliveries are intended to diversify supply under Central Florida Water Initiative requirements that restrict Upper Floridan allocations to demonstrated 2025 demand. The alternative-supply grant requests sit within a major utility capital programme. The city’s FY2027 budget, also approved on first reading at the meeting, includes about $141 million in water and sewer capital improvements. City Manager T. Michael Stavres said the debt service associated with water and wastewater capital work had been anticipated when utility rates were set in 2024.