Polk County is preparing to borrow up to $250 million as it heads into a $722 million water and sewer buildout, with new treatment plants, wells, pipelines and pumping stations planned through 2031. Nearly $491.5 million of that work will add capacity to a utility system serving a growing number of homes and businesses, while another $230.5 million will replace or rebuild infrastructure already in the ground.
The biggest piece sits in northeast Polk, where the county’s largest wastewater service area had 32,298 customer connections by September 2025. Its treatment plant can handle 6 million gallons per day and was already averaging 5.7 million during the year ending that September. Polk plans to spend $229.9 million to push capacity to 9 million gallons per day, with the extra room expected to be needed before 2030.
The county is also pushing the sewer network farther into northeast Polk, adding lines and two large pumping stations along Ernie Caldwell Boulevard and U.S. 17/92. Farther east, another $37.1 million would build a new wastewater treatment plant as Polk lays out a system meant to handle decades of additional demand. Altogether, the county has $359.7 million in sewer expansion planned through 2031…