The long-awaited $13.5 million John’s Island irrigation water pipeline, pump and treatment system – more than a dozen years in the making – could finally be operational for a test-run in the next couple of weeks, Vero Beach utility officials say.

When at full capacity, the pipeline is designed to bring 3 million gallons – roughly 400,000 cubic feet of diverted canal water per day – to John’s Island to keep retention ponds and golf course water features filled, and landscaping green.

The influx will replace treated reuse wastewater that John’s Island now purchases from Vero Beach Utilities, and supplements with well water when supply is spotty.

Testing of the new pipeline is scheduled to begin next week after final tie-ins are completed this week, with disconnection from existing reuse tanks by month’s end. Pump start-ups will start in early November.

“Most of the pipe has been replaced, pumps are installed, electrical improvements are complete,” said Rob Bolton, Vero’s utilities director said. “We will start running the system manually while we debug any operational programming issues starting the week of Nov. 3.”

The city’s target date to turn on the pipeline system had been August, but a few loose ends dragged the project out to fall.

“We are still finishing up some things at the water plant to divorce it from the stormwater system. For example, there are two 1-million gallon tanks, four filters, three high service pumps, one backwash pump, and a transfer pump that needed to be disconnected and repaired or replaced so that they were no longer used for the water system, but used for the stormwater system. The delivery of the replacement pumps caused some delays,” Bolton said.

“The biggest delay was that we discovered that a portion of the 16-inch piping that we were tying into was actually in the FEC railroad right of way – not on city property. This pipe was installed in the 1950 to 1970 timeframe. This was discovered in April and we did not get all of the parts until September,” Bolton said.

John’s Island funded the bulk of the cost of the project, investing $8 million, with two state grants picking up nearly $5 million and Vero Utilities spending $600,000 and contributing staff time to planning, engineering and constructing the system.

Removing the excess stormwater from canals will drastically reduce the flow of nitrogen and phosphorus into the lagoon, helping Vero meet state mandates imposed to improve the estuary’s health.

The St. Johns River Water Management District, one of the effort’s funders, hailed its merits, saying, “The Vero Beach Canal to Irrigation project is a win for the Indian River Lagoon and water conservation! Up to 3 million gallons of water from a freshwater canal will be treated at the city’s wastewater plant before being piped 5.5 miles to John’s Island. Once completed, residents of John’s Island will have access to reclaimed water for irrigation.”

Mile Korpar, general manager of both John’s Island Water Management and the John’s Island Property Owners Association, said no ribbon-cutting has been planned yet. “I do not have a definitive timeline yet as to when the water will be flowing.

“It will be utilized for all of our irrigation purposes, feeding the lakes first, and then we will pump it out to all of the property, including the golf courses.”

Korpar began seeking to expand the club community’s access to irrigation water for residents’ lawns, golf courses and common areas back in 2012 when the Town of Indian River Shores and then-mayor Tom Cadden were courting competing suppliers for water-sewer service.

Indian River County Utilities at the time vied to take over serving the town from Vero Beach Utilities when the town’s franchise agreement with Vero expired in 2017, but Vero outsmarted county officials, pledging to match the cheaper county rates.

The Shores re-upped with Vero for another 15 years plus a 15-year renewal option. That deal was fraught with trouble, however, landing Vero and the Shores in court over breach of contract claims for four years, an appeals panel finally ending the stalemate in 2023, ruling for Vero Beach.

The Shores remains on the Vero utility system despite a complete overhaul of its rate structure to pay for the under-construction wastewater treatment plant. The window of opportunity to attract an alternative utility service provider now seems closed.

Indian River County Utilities, which a decade ago had excess capacity to absorb Indian River Shores’ water-sewer customers, is now strapped to keep up with pandemic-era growth in northern and western parts of the county.

Separate from the town’s continued reliance on Vero Beach for costly reuse irrigation water, Korpar first attempted to convince Indian River County to run a pipeline under the Indian River Lagoon to bring treated wastewater to John’s Island. Environmental groups opposed the pipeline, fearing spills and habitat disruption. After the project was rejected by the County Commission in 2018, Korpar turned to Vero Beach to make the pipeline happen.

Bolton, faced with mandated reductions in the city’s nutrient load into the Indian River Lagoon, devised the plan to use the canal water – rather than treated wastewater – to feed John’s Island’s irrigation needs.

When canals swell and overflow into the lagoon, they bring unwanted nitrogen and phosphorus causing algae blooms and stifling vital seagrass beds. The freshwater also upsets the delicate salinity balance in the brackish estuary.

The new irrigation water supply will also reduce John’s Island’s reliance on well water pulled from underground aquifers. This benefit helped garner a $1.2 state grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The John’s Island system coming online will eventually free-up reuse irrigation water for the many mainland residents who have been waiting years for access.

“Reuse water (approximately 1.2 million gallons per day) will be available after the project is on-line. However, we will not expand the reuse system or take on any new customers until the new Water Reclamation Facility is on-line in Spring of 2028,” Bolton said.

“It is nice to see a collaborative project like this finally come to fruition,” said Vero Beach Utility Commission member Tracey Zudans.

“It would be nice to find a way to do a collaborative project for the new water and sewer project that is now going to cost way more than initially thought. Add debt service and Vero Beach is asking a lot from its residents, business owners and ratepayers.”