- December 4, 2025
Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 Lead Operator Daniel Niemann gave Florida Rep. Sam Greco a tour of WWTP 1 along city officials and key staff. Photo by Sierra Williams
Florida Rep. Sam Greco (center) took a tour of Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 with city officials, including Mayor Mike Norris (left) Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston (far right) and Councilman Charles Gambaro (back center). Photo by Sierra Williams
Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 Lead Operator Daniel Niemann gave Florida Rep. Sam Greco a tour of WWTP 1. Photo by Sierra Williams
Florida Rep. Sam Greco (center) listens to Councilman Charles Gambaro (left of center) talk about Wastewater Treatment Plant 1. Photo by Sierra Williams
From left to right: Mayor Mike Norris, Florida Rep. Sam Greco and City Councilman Charles Gambaro. Photo by Sierra Williams
After touring Palm Coast’s older water treatment facility, Florida House Rep. Sam Greco said the facility’s upgrades are a “substantial project that’s going to require partnership across the board.”
“This is a significant issue that's going to require partnership from a number of levels, from the local government, from the state government, and from the federal government,” he said.
On Aug. 20, Mayor Mike Norris, Councilman Charles Gambaro and key city staff gave Greco a tour of Palm Coast's Wastewater Treatment Plant 1, which crossed over its 6.83 million gallon per day flow capacity for several months in 2024. Now, after diverting some flow to the recently expanded WWTP 2, the older plant averages a daily flow of 6.5 million gallons per day.
The city is planning to add 4 million gallons in flow capacity and then will need to complete an AWT conversion to become compliant with state requirements. Some 60% of Palm Coast wastewater flows through WWTP 1, according to a presentation by Palm Coast Wastewater and Reuse Manager Danny Ashburn. The city is also planning to build a third plant in the future to accommodate Palm Coast’s rapid growth, he said.
Greco was just elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2024. He said he imagines the coming fiscal year 2027 budget will look similar to the 2026 budget, which followed Gov. Ron DeSantis' initiative to cut back on state spending.
"But I do think that there's certainly an opportunity to continue to get funding for this project, but I would imagine for the wastewater projects in Palm Coast," he said.
Greco said he first became aware of the scope of the problem facing Palm Coast’s WWTP 1, but appreciated the opportunity to tour the facility in person.
"It's always helpful to come and lay eyes on it, see the facility, understand the challenges, understand the space,” Greco said.
The previous week, Palm Coast also hosted its Congressman Randy Fine for a tour at WWTP 1. Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston said Fine and Greco’s presence in Palm Coast shows the city’s representatives are listening to their constituents and trying to help solve their problems.
Despite another prospective tight state budget, Johnston said she’s optimistic about the next legislative session. She said she thinks the state is going back to a pre-COVID era of appropriations.
“I think our representatives are here to help us navigate the state system, whether that's through direct appropriations or working through the various agencies,” Johnston said. “Having these relationships helping us navigate the state agencies – that's what we're really looking forward to.”
Palm Coast, with the help of its state representatives, secured $5 million in state appropriations last spring for facility upgrades and a second equalization tank at WWTP 1.
Norris said the city is going to need all the help that it can get.
"Most of our funding comes from the state, and at least Sam's taken notice of our issues, and he's trying to help us out,” Norris said. “We need somebody who's going to go up there and fight for us for every dollar. So every bit helps.”
Norris said the city is focusing on resiliency for the next round of legislative session requests. The city narrowed down its priority requests at the Aug 19 council meeting, coming away with eight projects.
“Anything that can shore up our infrastructure, we’re going to fight for it,” Norris said.
Norris said the items approved at the Aug. 19 meeting are all needed by the city.
“We don’t have any fluff,” Norris said. “Every dollar is needed.”
