Cutler Bay Mayor Peggy Bell, town manager Ralph Casals and others toured the county water and sewer treatment plant on Friday, May 22, meeting with department director Lester Sola and chief wastewater plant operator Steve Kronheim.
“The manager and I requested this and the recent landfill tour for the council members and staff,” Mayor Bell said on May 26. “We toured it in 2007, but we felt the new council and employees should be informed. In addition, the plant has been improved over the years,” she said.
“This gives the council and staff the ability to respond to residents’ questions and concerns. It is an amazing process, with state of the art equipment.”
Originally created in the 1920s, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department has been serving the needs of Miami-Dade County residents, businesses, and visitors by providing highquality drinking water and wastewater disposal services. It also provides for future economic growth through planning, implementing water conservation measures, safeguarding public health and the environment.
Casals said on June 1 that the tour was productive and would be helpful for the community.
“The recent tour of the South District Wastewater Treatment Plant provided both elected officials and town staff a hands-on opportunity to understand the plant’s daily operation,” Casals said. “I invited our front-line staff and department heads who would receive the initial calls from residents regarding any type of odor concerns.
The Miami-Dade Water and Sewer staff take great pride in operating the plant on a daily basis and are very responsive to any calls received by town staff.”
The amount of water treated on a daily basis would fill 21,000 swimming pools. It’s the largest public utility in the southeastern United States and employs almost 2,500 workers, delivering 2.3 million gallons of water a day.
The 24-hour phone numbers for the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, that residents can call for “odor” complaints, are 305-274-9272 or 305-372-6955.
