Board forwards Hollywood's 2025 Water Supply Work Plan update to City Commission after summary of capacity and conservation measures

The Planning and Development Board voted Feb. 10 to forward a staff‑sponsored amendment to the potable water subelement that incorporates Hollywood's 2025 Water Supply Facilities Work Plan into the city's comprehensive plan by reference.

Staff and consultants explained the amendment satisfies statutory requirements tied to the South Florida Water Management District's Lower East Coast Water Supply Plan and Chapter 163, Florida Statutes. The city opted to adopt the work plan as a standalone document and reference it in section 7 of the potable water subelement while the larger Hollywood 2050 comprehensive update remains on hold pending legislative clarity.

Consultants from Corolla Engineers said the city currently serves about 155,000 people (per the 2024 annual report) and operates a treatment plant with three parallel treatment processes: conventional lime softening (capacity about 24 million gpd), membrane softening (about 14 million gpd) and reverse osmosis (about 8 million gpd), with combined treated‑water storage capacity around 18 million gallons. Using recent per‑capita use of roughly 98.9 gallons per person per day, consultants projected a peak average demand of about 26.47 million gpd by 2045; the consultants concluded the city's permitted withdrawals and treatment capacity could meet that projected demand, though upgrades for PFAS compliance and reuse expansion were noted as planned actions.

The water‑supply plan also documents conservation measures the city has adopted — for example, an irrigation ordinance limiting irrigation to two days per week and prohibiting watering during the heat of day — and encourages additional best practices such as Florida‑friendly landscaping and reuse expansion. Consultants said regional planning monitors saltwater intrusion and that Hollywood's current withdrawals are managed to avoid aggravating intrusion; they also said direct potable reuse is under investigation regionally but is not yet in routine operation.

Board members asked about landscape ordinances, graywater/indirect reuse, and how the plan accounts for saltwater intrusion; consultants and staff said those topics are included in the work plan's recommendations and in ongoing regional coordination. The board voted to recommend the amendment to City Commission; the amendment will be transmitted to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity for formal review.