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Mayor Joseph M. Corradino and the Village Council held a groundbreaking ceremony on August 19th for completion of Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Department’s potable water system in the Village. They were joined by former mayors Gary Matzner, Cindy Lerner and former Vice Mayor Robert Hingston.
Mayor Corradino said during the ceremony that it was a “fast project, 25 years in the making,” referring to the perennial issue of potable water over the village’s 25 year history.
This past March, with the passage of the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan, the village was notified that it would receive approximately $8 million of Federal funds that could only be used for very specific matters including water projects. The Village Council and staff worked quickly to take the necessary steps to use most of those dollars to finally resolve the water issue in Pinecrest. The balance of the project will be paid by the benefitting property owners with a special assessment of approximately $358 per year for 25 years. The special assessment was unanimously approved by the Village Council in May.
Approximately 725 homes in the Village do not currently have access to the county’s potable water system and rely on wells. This has been especially problematic for a myriad of issues including failing wells, the threat of salt-water intrusion and unreliability of well systems during storms due to power outages.
In the early 2000s, then Mayor Matzner had negotiated with the county for the inclusion of monies in a General Obligation Bond for expansion of the water system in the Village. The bond was approved by voters county-wide in 2004. At the time, the funds were not sufficient to complete the entire system so a “spine” was constructed to facilitate future expansions. Approximately 500 homes gained access to the water infrastructure at the time.
For years, seeking monies from state and federal sources to complete the system was a major priority for the Village Council. Unfortunately, many funding sources became very limited in the years following the Great Recession of 2008. Although this was a “Pinecrest” issue because it affects so many properties in the village, it is important to note that Miami-Dade County is the water utility – the village does not operate a water utility. The construction of water infrastructure by the village becomes property of the county which is then responsible for providing service and maintenance. The county also derives revenue from the sale of water. The county has committed $500,000 to the current project.
Property owners will have up to 10 years to connect to the system.
For information about the project, visit www.pinecrest-fl.gov/water.
