The west side of Destin will soon be the site of a new study as Destin Water Users (DWU) will survey the area for potential improvements.
“We received a legislative appropriationearlier this year for $40,000 and are leveraging that with matching grant dollars from Northwest Florida Water Management District,” said Destin Water Users General Manager Lockwood Wernet. “The purpose of the money is to update the modeling of our water system for improvement.”
Wernet told The Log that the study will focus on the oldest portion of DWU’s system from Beach Drive west to the Marler Bridge as the area is ripe for expansion.
“We have service in that area and there are no service issues,” said Wernet. “What we are seeing is continued growth and we need to do something to improve service for future growth that we expect in that area.”
The $80,000 study will look at the existing water distribution system and determine improvements based on size of pipes, pressure in the system, and where water flows from to that area.
“We are trying to lower the amount of water taken out of our seven coastal wells, and increase consumption from our inland well field,” said Wernet.
DWU has partnered with Polyengineering INC. to begin the project which is set to pick up steam in January.
“From the study they will produce a water model analysis of the system, identify potential issues and give recommendations on where we need to increase size of pipes or where we need to loop the system,” he said. “We will then use that model to plan future improvements in that area of town.”
Currently DWU services about 16,000 customers in the city of Destin and unincorporated Okaloosa County during the winter months and up to 60,000 during the summer tourist season.
“Our plant is located off of Main Street in the center of town, but we need to get the water further west to Calhoun,” said Wernet. “This study will help us see how we can get the water to the west portion of Destin.”