The EFC provides financial planning assistance to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Water Quality Protection Program by assisting the program's Steering Committee, Monroe County and other organizations such as the Florida Keys Wastewater Assistance Foundation (FKWAF). The EFC completed a sewer connection charge needs assessment (pdf) in August 2008, as well as tools to determine the affordability of wastewater charges.

Tools (Require Adobe Flash - Get Flash )

Connection Costs
The Connection Cost Tool can be used to determine the number of low-income residents in each community that will find initial connection costs including tap fees and lateral installations unaffordable. This data does not include system development charges. All communities allow residents to amortize system development (a.k.a. capacity) charges. When these amortized charges are combined with recurring, monthly user charges, the average monthly bill can also be unaffordable for many of the Key's residents.

On-going Charges
This tool helps to estimate the number of low-income customers that will find these charges to be unaffordable in each community.

Trainings

Low-income Wastewater Customer Work Session (pdf)
July 24, 2008
Key Colony Beach Inn
The work session provided a forum for local government professionals, non-profit agencies, private lending institutions and other interested parties to discuss innovative strategies for addressing the affordability of wastewater connections and wastewater services for low-income customers in the Florida Keys.
Read notes and highlights from the work session (pdf)

One strategy suggested during the work session is that communities manage on-site lateral connections by bundling together connections and bargaining for reduced costs or by installing laterals themselves. These strategies would require that the local government obtain an easement to install laterals on the resident’s property. This practice has been used in other communities. The following documents provide example easements that were used in other communities in Florida under the SRF and the CDBG programs.

CDBG (pdf)

SRF (pdf)

Links

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Water Quality Protection Program

Monroe County

Florida Keys Wastewater Assistance Foundation