The Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) Authority approved to hire a contractor for an estimated $55 million project at the Murphree Water Treatment Plant on Wednesday, the only drinking water facility for the city and some surrounding areas. 

The GRU Authority also heard an update on a $150 million loan the utility will need to take on this year. 

Debbie Daugherty, GRU’s water and wastewater officer, said the upgrades would expand water storage capacity, alleviate operational constraints and fulfill the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) policy.  

Daugherty said FDEP would require the utility to make these changes by 2032. She said any large facility projects take years to plan and then construct. 

This project could also include a new-standalone pumping station and interconnecting the water piping at the site to ensure redundancy and that no single failure could shut down the whole operation.  

The Murphree Water Treatment Plant was built in 1975, and the water pumps are still the originals, Daugherty said.   

Daugherty said the exact scope will depend on planning and design with its contractor. GRU staff recommended entering a contract with Overland Contracting, Inc., and the GRU Authority approved the recommendation.  

GRU staff will return with more details as the project gets underway, Daugherty said. 

The utility will pay for the project over the next six years, and Daugherty said there isn’t a lot of grant funding available for the water, versus wastewater, side of utilities. 

Mark Benton, GRU’s director of accounting and finance, said that utilities offering multiple services regularly need to access the loan market for construction financing. The last time GRU issued new money debt was in July 2023, and Benton said construction fund cash is now dwindling.  

GRU will look to enter a new bond for $150 million to restock the construction fund.  

Benton said this new debt is already anticipated in GRU financial forecasts and will not cause any rate increases. 

Benton also outlined other financial transactions slated for 2026, but none of these include new debt, just continued existing lines of credit or other shifting of money through prepayments and hedging contracts.  

For some of these transactions, the GRU staff wants to advise the Gainesville City Commission and ask the commission to pass a resolution also approving the actions.  

Benton said some financial institutions wanted this measure as the litigation and debate over who should manage GRU continues. 

The GRU Authority wasn’t scheduled for a vote on Wednesday. Instead, Benton said he wanted to introduce the items and have the first votes in February. 

Also in February, the Florida First District Court of Appeal will hear the case between the GRU Authority and the Gainesville City Commission. The oral arguments are scheduled for Feb. 10.  

But that date might not be soon enough for a couple dozen residents who packed the start of the GRU Authority meeting. The residents reiterated arguments for the authority directors to step down and end litigation with the city.  

These resident requests have occurred since the GRU Authority took over in 2023, but with renewed fervor since Gainesville residents passed two referendums to eliminate the authority.