HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-20-0300City of Miami
Resolution R-20-0300
Legislation
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
File Number: 7906 Final Action Date: 9/24/2020
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S),
URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND THE FLORIDA
LEGISLATURE TO PROVIDE FUNDING TO ASSIST LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
WITH THE ELIMINATION OF SEPTIC SYSTEMS AND CONVERSION TO
SEWER SYSTEM CONNECTIONS; DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO
INCLUDE THIS REQUEST AMONG THE CITY OF MIAMI'S FEDERAL AND
STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES IN 2020 AND 2021; DIRECTING THE CITY
CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE NAMED
OFFICIALS LISTED HEREIN; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
SPONSOR(S): Mayor Francis X. Suarez, Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla,
Commissioner Ken Russell, Commissioner Joe Carollo, Commissioner Manolo
Reyes
WHEREAS, the City of Miami ("City") is the largest and oldest municipality in Miami -
Dade County and is the second largest city in the State of Florida ("State"); and
WHEREAS, septic systems are on -site sewage treatment and disposal systems that
treat wastewater from individual properties; and
WHEREAS, historically, many septic tanks were installed due to a lack of a centralized
sewer systems available to service individual properties; and
WHEREAS, older regulations only required one (1) foot of soil under the septic tank to
allow for the filtration of liquid waste to the underlying aquifer; and
WHEREAS, although current regulations in Miami -Dade County ("County") require two
(2) feet of soil, that depth is often inadequate to allow for proper filtration without affecting
nearby water quality; and
WHEREAS, exacerbating this problem is that regulations and traditional engineering
standards were historically premised on the fact that groundwater elevation would remain stable
over long periods of time; and
WHEREAS, this premise has proven to be incorrect due to sea level rise, which is
degrading any protection of the septic systems in the City and County; and
WHEREAS, sea level rise, heavy rains, and king tides are negatively impacting many
low-lying septic tank systems and can push feces ridden water into the Biscayne Aquifer and
into the water supply thereby exacerbating an environmental and health concern as recently
evidenced with the large-scale fish kill in Biscayne Bay; and
WHEREAS, this seepage poses a threat to the public health, safety, and general welfare
of the residents of the City and County; and
City of Miami Page 1 of 3 File ID: 7906 (Revision: A) Printed On: 5/9/2025
File ID: 7906 Enactment Number: R-20-0300
WHEREAS, of the approximately 108,000 properties within the County that use septic
tanks, 105,000 of those are residential properties with more than 65,000 properties lying within
the unincorporated areas of the County and the remainder in municipalities; and
WHEREAS, according to the County's Water and Sewer Department ("WASD"), there
are approximately 2,000 properties in the City without access to the sanitary sewer system as
depicted in teal in the map attached and incorporated as Exhibit "A"; and
WHEREAS, sea level rise poses a concern for septic systems because it accelerates
water table rise, diminishes treatment capacity for drain fields, and results in elevated levels of
ground water pollution; and
WHEREAS, legislative notice is taken of the November 2018 Report ("County Report")
presented to the County's Board of County Commissioners by the County's Department of
Regulatory and Economic Resources, WASD, and the State's Department of Health which
found that approximately half the septic tanks in the County break down each year which is
expected to increase to 64% by 2040; and
WHEREAS, the best way to address long term risks with rising groundwater levels is to
extend sewer connections to new and existing structures and prohibit or sharply reduce
approvals for new septic systems in the County and in other vulnerable areas of the State; and
WHEREAS, the County Report estimated that the cost to connect the remaining
residential areas that do not have County or City water and/or sewer service that are within a
certain proximity of wastewater infrastructure to the regional wastewater system would be
approximately $3.3 billion; and
WHEREAS, although the County may require property owners to connect to the sewer
system at the property owner's expense, such cost may be prohibitive, especially for residential
properties; and
WHEREAS, the elimination of septic systems and conversion to sewer system
connections is not just a local issue but is a Federal and State level concern touching on public
health and water quality issues; and
WHEREAS, legislative notice is taken of County Resolution Nos. R-1160-19 adopted on
October 29, 2019 and R-881-20 adopted on August 31, 2020 urging the Florida Legislature to
assist the County and affected cities within the County in eliminating the septic systems and
replacing them with sewer system connections and to identify this issue as a federal and State
legislative funding priority; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature included twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000.00)
in funding for water quality improvement projects including septic to sewer grants and septic to
sewer conversions; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the Florida Legislature's action, this funding was vetoed
and is still needed to address these serious and worsening conditions relative to septic systems;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA:
City of Miami Page 2 of 3 File ID: 7906 (Revision: A) Printed on: 5/9/2025
File ID: 7906 Enactment Number: R-20-0300
Section 1. The recitals and finding contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are
adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Section.
Section 2. The City Commission urges the United States Congress and the Florida
Legislature to provide funding to assist local governments with the elimination of septic systems
and conversion to sewer system connections.
Section 3. The City Manager is directed to include this request among the City's Federal
and State legislative priorities in 2020 and 2021.
Section 4. The City Clerk is directed to submit a certified copy of this Resolution to the
County Mayor, Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners, President of the United States, the
Florida Congressional Delegation, the Governor of the State of Florida, the United States
Senate President, the House Speaker of the State, and the members of the County Legislative
Delegation.
Section 5. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS:
ndez, City ttor ey 10/22/2020
City of Miami Page 3 of 3 File ID: 7906 (Revision: A) Printed on: 5/9/2025