Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Tuesday marked the completion of new thickening and dewatering facilities at the Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant on Virginia Key, casting the project as a major step forward for the county’s aging sewer system. County officials, plant crews and state regulators turned out for the ceremony, which included walk-throughs of the upgraded centrifuges, covered cake silos and truck load-out gear that are expected to significantly speed up processing and hauling.
People living near Virginia Key have spent years griping about smells and storm vulnerability from the busy plant, and county leaders presented the latest work as a move toward quieter, more resilient operations that should be easier on nearby neighborhoods.
In a county news release covered by Community Newspapers, Levine Cava and Commissioner Raquel Regalado linked the Virginia Key upgrades to the Water and Sewer Department’s wider modernization strategy and the county’s $8.9 billion Capital Improvement Program. County materials describe the Central District work, combined with similar improvements at the South District plant, as the largest completed construction contract in WASD history, and they credit the new equipment with both operational and environmental gains…