Remain a top 3 municipal leader in the prevention of sewer spills during the next 5 years.

The City of Tallahassee has been a leader among other Florida utilities in reducing the occurrence of overflows and mitigating their impacts on the environment and public health. Over the past decade, the City has reduced the incidence of overflows by approximately 85% and reduced the overall volume of overflows by 60%. Fiscal year 2022 continues this trend by mirroring 2021’s record-low number of sanitary sewer overflows. To compare itself to other local governments, the City is a member of the Florida Benchmark Consortium (FBC) which is the largest intra-state local government benchmarking consortium in the country. Each year, the City compares 24 performance management indicators against other City and County Governments. For overflows, the FBC considers a metric that compares the total volume of overflows for every 100 miles of sewer collection pipe within the system. In FY2016-17 the City ranked in the top 3 best compared to other utilities. Comparative data from FY2017-Present has yet to be released [1]. The City sustains its leadership in this category through an effective and efficient sewer collection maintenance and cleaning schedule. In 2022 alone, the City upgraded 6.5 miles of aging wastewater pipes and invested $17.3 million in sewer system upgrades. The City raises awareness on the effects of fats, roots, rags, oils, and grease in the wastewater system through public outreach and education programs.  

Underground Utilities & Public Infrastructure. Last Updated: November 2022