Underground Utilities & Public Infrastructure

Summary of Services

Underground Utilities & Public Infrastructure (UUPI) provides a broad range of services to the Tallahassee community and utilizes funding from multiple sources, including the water, sewer, and stormwater enterprise utility funds as well as the City’s General Fund. Major infrastructure supported by UUPI includes the Thomas P. Smith Advanced Wastewater Reclamation Facility that features a treatment capacity of 26.5 million gallons per day (MGD), 120 pump stations, 1,099 miles of sanitary sewers, 448 miles of storm drains, 310 miles of ditches and canals, 1,252 miles of water mains, 703 miles of City streets, 465 miles of City sidewalks, 360 traffic signals, eight elevated water towers, and 27 water wells producing more than 9 billion gallons of potable water each year.

 

Working together, these service areas are strategically aligned to achieve operating efficiencies through economies of scale. The use of periodic rate studies ensures utility enterprise funds maintain a healthy financial condition, recover costs appropriately, and fund capital investment as identified in long-term master plans.

 

Water

The City of Tallahassee's Water Utility is responsible for ensuring the safe and uninterrupted delivery of the highest quality drinking water to its customers. For more than a century, City employees have worked to provide our customers and our communities with water that meets all federal and state standards.

 

The City's water system currently services over 87,000 connections and consumes approximately 9 billion gallons of water annually. This around-the-clock operation employs 27 water wells and treatment facilities, eight elevated storage tanks, 7,545 fire hydrants, and 1,252 miles of water distribution pipes.

 

Sewer/Wastewater

Since 1904, the City of Tallahassee has provided a complete array of wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal services essential to protecting the Big Bend region's public health and natural environment. The City’s Wastewater Utility is responsible for collecting, treating, and recycling wastewater and treating commercially pumped sewage. As part of the City’s commitment to protecting the environment, treatment processes utilized at the Thomas P. Smith (TPS) Advanced Water Reclamation Facility result in effluent that meets and exceeds regulatory requirements. On average, the sewer system collects and treats more than 18.2 million gallons daily. On average, the sewer system collects and treats more than 18.2 million gallons per day. 

 

Stormwater

Established in 1987 to provide stormwater management services within the City limits, the Stormwater Fund provides for the development, operation, and maintenance of infrastructure and programs related to drainage, flood prevention, and surface water quality. The Stormwater Utility serves approximately 90,000 residential and7,000 non-residential customers through operational activities and the design and construction of drainage facilities infrastructure. The fund includes capital project oversight, maintenance of drainage infrastructure such as retention ponds and drainage outfalls, monitoring of lakes and groundwater, and raising public awareness of the environmental impacts of pollution, such as the Think About Personal Pollution (TAPP) program. 

 

Public Infrastructure

Public Infrastructure (PI) functions are funded through the City’s General Fund. Services include maintenance of 703 miles of City streets, 465 miles of City sidewalks, 360 traffic signals, and 340 other traffic control devices within the City’s service area to ensure City roadways are efficient and safe. Since 2020, over 275 lane miles have been resurfaced, 49 new sidewalks have been created, and more than 55,000 potential trip hazards have been repaired. Local neighborhoods are on track to be more walkable than ever through the combined results of the City, Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, and Community Redevelopment Agency projects. Public Infrastructure also supports Traffic Signal System Operations, which monitors, programs, and maintains traffic and pedestrian signaling devices throughout the City, as well as Traffic Engineering, which is responsible for traffic planning, sign design, pavement markings, and traffic data collection.

 

FY26

Underground Utilities and Public Infrastructure has 495 full-time employees in FY26 across 24 divisions/cost centers. The department also has 8 active temporary positions.

 

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