What you need to know:
- City Commission unanimously approved up to $80 million in water and wastewater revenue bonds
- Bond proceeds fund the Crest Avenue wastewater plant expansion, a new gravity sewer system in Teacup Springs, and additional projects yet to be named
- Water and sewer rates rise 17%, then 20%, 20%, 7%, and 7% through October 2028 — and automatically after that, with no public hearing required
- The city's population has grown 36% since 2010, straining a facility originally built around 1950
Winter Garden utility customers will pay higher water and sewer bills through October 2028 after the City Commission authorized up to $80 million in new revenue bonds to overhaul its aging wastewater system.
The commission approved the bonds unanimously on March 13, 2025. The debt is part of a broader $163.8 million capital plan for the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure through fiscal year 2029, according to a staff memo from Finance Director Laura Zielonka.
What it pays for
The largest piece of that plan is already underway. Construction began in mid-February on the $132.6 million expansion and upgrade of the Crest Avenue wastewater treatment facility, a project the city expects to take about 36 months. The city awarded the contract to Wharton-Smith, Inc., with a guaranteed maximum price of $132,637,770.
The project will nearly double the plant’s treatment capacity, from 4.75 million gallons per day to 7.5 million gallons per day, according to a city construction alert. The facility was originally built around 1950 and has undergone several expansions, but the city’s population growth — up 36% since 2010, according to the West Orange Times & Observer — has pushed it toward its limits.
But Crest Avenue is not the only project the bonds will fund. A second project draws $3 million from the bond proceeds: a septic-to-sewer conversion in the Teacup Springs subdivision that will connect 148 homes to the city’s sewer system and provide reclaimed water lines for irrigation, according to Williams. The bond resolution also includes a placeholder for additional projects marked “TO COME,” meaning the commission authorized up to $80 million in borrowing before the full project list was finalized.
State environmental compliance is the dominant driver of the Crest Avenue project. The city’s design engineer estimated that 75 percent of the $132.6 million cost — roughly $100 million — is attributable to meeting Advanced Water Treatment Standards required by the state, according to Williams. The remaining 25 percent covers capacity expansion to keep pace with population growth. To help fund the compliance work, the city applied for and received placement on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s State Revolving Fund priority list in September 2024 for a $20 million low-interest loan, according to city commission records.
What it costs residents
The commission adopted a new utility rate schedule in November 2024 — the second rate adjustment in two years after the city held rates steady from 2003 to 2023, according to Williams. Assistant City Manager for Public Services Steve Pash told commissioners the rate increases were designed to fund the $132.6 million expansion and improvements of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, according to the meeting minutes.
The rate schedule hits water and sewer bills equally hard. Both rise 17% in January 2025, then 20% each October in 2025 and 2026, followed by 7% increases in October 2027 and October 2028. Before the first increase, a single-family household paid a combined base rate of $16.60 per month for water and sewer. By October 2028, that base rate will reach $32.02 — nearly double.
The first two increases have already taken effect. The residential water base rate rose from $6.83 to $7.99 in January 2025, then jumped another 20% to $9.59 in October 2025. The sewer base followed the same trajectory, from $9.77 to $11.43 to $13.72, according to the rate ordinance and the city’s current utility billing page. Three more increases remain on the schedule — 20% in October 2026, then 7% each in October 2027 and October 2028.
What has received less attention is what happens after the scheduled increases end. A provision of the rate ordinance states that beginning October 1, 2029, and recurring every October 1 after that, utility rates will automatically increase by the greater of the GDP Implicit Price Deflator Index published by the Florida Public Service Commission — known as the FPSC Index — or 2 percent, with no additional public hearing required. The provision has no end date; bills will continue rising each year on autopilot unless the commission acts to change it.
The commission took steps to cushion the blow for vulnerable residents. On the same night it adopted the rate increases, it also expanded the city’s existing senior citizens utility assistance program — originally created in 2003. The changes cut the residency requirement from five years to 12 months, replaced fixed-dollar income caps with a test tied to the Federal Poverty Income Guideline, and increased the benefit from a flat $35 per month to 90 percent of the base rate. A separate provision created a new voluntary round-up program allowing any customer to donate to a hardship fund by rounding up their bill. Both took effect January 1, 2025.
How the $163.8 million is funded
The five-year capital plan relies heavily on debt. Of the $163.8 million total, $138.2 million will come from borrowing, including $68.3 million from the bond proceeds authorized March 13. Another $13.1 million will come from grants, and $12.6 million from rate revenues, according to the Zielonka memo.
The bonds will be repaid from water and wastewater system net revenues — not property taxes. But the revenue backing those bonds comes from customer utility bills, which are now rising on a set schedule. According to a staff memo from Finance Director Laura Zielonka, the city’s funding plan maintains unrestricted reserve funds in excess of 120 days of gross revenues.
The city assembled a team of outside advisors for the bond sale: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Raymond James & Associates as underwriters, Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson, P.A. as bond counsel, Raftelis as rate consultants, and PFM as financial advisor, according to the staff memo and the bond purchase contract. The bonds went to market April 15, 2025, with an all-in true interest cost of 4.9766 percent, according to Williams.
What’s next
The Crest Avenue facility construction is expected to continue through early 2028. Three more rate increases remain on the schedule — 20% in October 2026, then 7% in both October 2027 and October 2028. After that, automatic annual increases tied to the FPSC Index or 2 percent — whichever is greater — begin in October 2029 and continue indefinitely without further commission action.
The bonds went to market April 15, 2025. The commission had delegated authority to City Manager Jon C. Williams to execute the purchase contract and determine whether to use municipal bond insurance for any of the bonds.
The Teacup Springs gravity sewer project and the unnamed additional projects in the bond resolution have not been publicly detailed. The city approved the bond authorization before finalizing the full list of projects the proceeds would fund.