As Port Richey’s existing water treatment plant nears the end of its life, city leaders are exploring plans for a new facility updated with enhanced filtration technology and designed to meet future federal regulations.
The current water plant facility is nearly 40 years old and was designed for iron removal. While the city’s water is tested monthly and within all regulated guidelines, building a new plant that features a reverse osmosis system will better position the city to meet federal standards as they evolve, operations manager Sal Licari said.
“A reverse osmosis system is a state-of-the-art filtration process to even further reduce salt content, bacterial levels and naturally occurring organic substances,” he said.
A new plant — projected to cost between $45 million and $50 million — would also be designed to support population growth and emergency demand, he said. The current proposed site is just north of the existing water plant off Main Street.
“The new plant will be able to sustain the current population, possible future population increase in Port Richey, and also maintain surges of emergencies such as fire department needs and utility main-breaks in the distribution system,” Licari said.
The city is currently working with McKim & Creed design services to develop an initial layout for the facility. The design phase is expected to be completed by August 2026, followed by the bidding process and a two-year construction timeline.
By April 2029, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requiring public water systems to comply with the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). While the EPA announced in 2025 its intent to extend the compliance deadlines to 2031, allowing the agency to review other PFAS standards, public water systems must begin monitoring these “forever chemicals” and provide the public with information on levels in drinking water beginning in 2027.
According to the EPA, water treatment plants that use a reverse osmosis process are effective at removing PFAS.
“Reverse osmosis is a water purification process that uses a semipermeable membrane to remove impurities from water by applying pressure,” Licari said.
A reverse osmosis system would also address any current obstacles the existing water treatment plant faces, while offering additional benefits like increased virus and bacteria removal, he said.
“Reverse osmosis is the most efficient and cost-effective method, without requiring multiple processes to target each individual contaminant,” Licari said.
The current design phase is funded through the FDEP Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) emerging contaminant program. The design must be completed first before construction funding can be secured, representatives from McKim & Creed told city council members at their Jan. 27 meeting. Construction funding is possible through the DWSRF, with a higher priority for funding by meeting small and disadvantaged community criteria.
“The city would seek funding through grants, state appropriations, state agencies, a financed loan or a bond,” Licari said. “The city is exploring all possibilities for funding.”
According to McKim & Creed, during construction, there would be minimal construction impact on existing water operations.