In 2005, Port St. Lucie, Florida, was named the fastest growing city in the United States, having grown from approximately 10,000 residents to the current 135,000 residents in less than 20 years. During that period, the City’s Utility Systems Department was tasked with providing and maintaining a water supply and distribution system to serve the community.

In 2000, Tetra Tech was selected by the City to design and oversee construction of a state-of-the-art Reverse Osmosis (RO) water treatment plant to treat brackish water from deep Floridian Aquifer wells. The water facility was to have an initial capacity of 6.0 million gallons per day (mgd) and the ability to readily expand to a capacity of 20.0 mgd. Tetra Tech provided facility design and construction administration for the initial capacity on a green-field site allowing for phased construction and start-up of the proposed facilities to meet the City’s rigorous schedule for additional capacity.

In 2005, the City authorized Tetra Tech to begin design for the facility expansion to a total capacity of 22.5 mgd. The facility was expanded accordingly and started up at full capacity in 2008. Tetra Tech provided all of the permitting, design, and construction administration for the expansion.

The facility includes a main laboratory, an operations building, chemical feed facilities, membrane skids, degasification facilities, finished water storage and pumping facilities for the deep injection well, and auxiliary power generator facilities.