From Staff Reports
In Summary:
The Golden Gem Reclaim Water Facility is a regional partnership between Apopka and the St. Johns River Water Management District intended to balance reclaimed water supply and demand across northwest Orange County. City officials say the project will eventually recycle all of Apopka's wastewater for irrigation use while reducing reliance on groundwater withdrawals. The workshop will cover ongoing construction, pond reconstruction efforts, and future phases of the project.
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As Apopka continues to grapple with growth, infrastructure demands, and long-term water sustainability, city leaders will receive an update on Wednesday on one of the region's most significant utility projects.
Related: South Apopka study leads June 17 agenda as consent items continue drawing attention.
The Apopka City Commission will hold a workshop at 5 pm on June 17 at City Hall, with the Golden Gem Reclaim Water Facility serving as the meeting's primary discussion item. The workshop will provide commissioners and residents with an overview of the project's history, current construction activities, and next steps as the city expands its reclaimed water system.
Presented by Public Works Director and City Engineer Vladimir Simonovski, the workshop will highlight the facility's role in a regional strategy to balance reclaimed water supply and demand across northwest Orange County. City officials describe the Golden Gem project as a multi-phase, multi-year investment designed to support Apopka's continued growth while improving long-term water resilience.
The initiative is being developed in partnership with the St. Johns River Water Management District, which purchased approximately 100 acres for the facility under a memorandum of agreement first executed in 2009. The agreement has been amended multiple times, most recently in May 2026, reflecting the project's evolving scope and long-term regional importance.
According to workshop materials, the project aims to address regional imbalances in reclaimed water availability while reducing pressure on the Floridan Aquifer and supporting water quality goals within the Wekiva springshed and Basin Management Action Plan areas. Once fully operational, the system is expected to recycle 100% of Apopka's wastewater into reuse irrigation, eliminating raw wastewater discharges.
Apopka currently maintains reclaimed water interlocal agreements with Sunshine Water, Orange County, Altamonte Springs, and Mount Dora, creating a network intended to improve supply reliability and operational flexibility throughout the region.
The workshop will also provide updates on recent construction milestones. The project's east storage pond was completed in 2021, followed by the west pond in 2023, creating a combined storage capacity of 349 million gallons.
City officials recently advertised bids for a new distribution pump station designed by Wright-Pierce. Bid openings are scheduled for June 30, with construction expected to begin before Sept. 1. The facility is projected to take approximately 18 months to complete and will serve as a key component in distributing reclaimed water throughout the regional system.
Commissioners are also expected to hear about ongoing efforts to reconstruct portions of the facility's storage ponds after engineers identified liner failures, material deterioration, and groundwater-related concerns. Tetra Tech is redesigning the ponds, with construction on the west pond expected to begin this fall and conclude in March 2027. A timeline for reconstructing the larger east pond has not yet been established.
In addition to the Golden Gem presentation, commissioners are expected to discuss future workshop topics, including transportation planning, utility infrastructure, advisory boards, the city's comprehensive plan, and a proposed database for tracking commission votes.
Key points:
- The Apopka City Commission workshop begins at 5 pm on June 17 at City Hall and will focus primarily on the Golden Gem Reclaim Water Facility.
- The project is a regional partnership with the St. Johns River Water Management District dating back to a 2009 memorandum of agreement.
- City officials say the system will recycle 100% of Apopka's wastewater into reclaimed irrigation water and reduce reliance on the Floridan Aquifer.
- A new distribution pump station is expected to begin construction before September 1 and will take approximately 18 months to complete.
- Engineers are redesigning the facility's storage ponds after identifying liner failures and groundwater concerns, with reconstruction of the west pond expected to be completed in March 2027.
