Public Works

JOINT FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL

PUBLIC NOTICE

May 11, 2026

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Florida Division of Emergency Management have received the following application for Federal grant funding.  Final notice is hereby given of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) consideration to provide funding in the form of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Funds will be provided in accordance with Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), federal actions must be reviewed and evaluated for feasible alternatives and for social, economic, historic, environmental, legal, and safety considerations. Under Executive Order (EO) 11988 and EO 11990 FEMA is required to consider alternatives to and to provide public notice of any proposed actions in or affecting floodplains or wetlands

Funding for the proposed project will be conditional upon compliance with all applicable federal, tribal, state and local laws, regulations, floodplain standards, permit requirements and conditions.

Applicant:

City of New Port Richey

Project Title:

HMGP-4828-067-R (174) City of New Port Richey, Lift Station IIC, Generator

Location of Proposed Work:

The area affected by this project consists of the following location:

Boat Ramp IIC Lift Station, New Port Richey, FL 34652

Proposed Work and Purpose:

City of New Port Richey proposes to provide backup power to the Boat Ramp IIC lift station located in New Port Richey, Florida 34652.

The project proposes to provide protection by purchasing and installing a permanent generator with a capacity of 150kW, or the adequate size determined by the vendor and/or an electrical engineer during the bid process to appropriately support this utility. The project shall include all required electrical and ancillary components necessary for the installation of the generator. Currently this infrastructure is unprotected without any source of backup power during power outages, an interruption in the electric power supply would result in a loss of service of the lift station which would lead to sewage overflows. The project shall decrease the risk of electrical power loss to the lift station and shall prevent sewage overflows during future power outages.

Project Alternatives:

The alternatives to the project that have been and will be considered are 1) the no action alternative and 2) An alternate action would be to supply power from another leg of power that is on an adjacent run. This would include approximately 1,800’ of directional drilling and additional coordination and approval from Duke Energy. These alternatives to the proposed project are not viable because under Alternative 1) during power outages, there would be no backup power source to support essential operations such as emergency communications, water/wastewater treatment, public safety coordination; and Alternative 2) is cost prohibitive and would not provide complete continuity as typical outages during storms are systemic and cover entire municipalities, as opposed to isolated legs of power, and therefore not practicable.

Comment Period:

Comments are solicited from the public; local, state or federal agencies; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of the proposed project.  The comments should be made in writing and addressed to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Bureau of Mitigation, 2489 Shumard Oak Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100.  These are due within 15 days of this notice.  The State will forward comments to applicable regulatory agencies as needed.  Interested persons may submit comments, obtain more detailed information about the proposed action, or request a copy of the findings by contacting:

Monitoring Requirements Now Met

City of New Port Richey Public Water System

The City of New Port Richey is providing an update to the previously issued Public Notification regarding drinking water monitoring requirements for January 2026.

Update on Monitoring Compliance

Following the January 2026 monitoring period, the City completed all required follow-up bacteriological (total coliform) sampling that was previously missed. All additional bacteriological samples collected tested negative for total coliform bacteria.

Based on these results, the City of New Port Richey has met or exceeded all state and federal drinking water monitoring and regulatory requirements at this time.

What does this mean?

• All required bacteriological sampling has now been completed
• No total coliform bacteria were detected in any initial or follow-up samples
• The water system is currently in full regulatory compliance
• There is no indication of any risk to public health

What should I do?

There is nothing you need to do at this time. Customers may continue to use and drink the water as normal.

Ongoing Actions

• Routine bacteriological monitoring will continue as required
• Additional internal quality control measures have been implemented to ensure all future monitoring requirements are met
• The City remains committed to transparency, regulatory compliance, and providing safe, high-quality drinking water to all customers

What happened?

The City is required to regularly test drinking water for certain indicators, including routine bacteria samples, to confirm water quality. In January, the initial samples were collected and the results came back clear, with no bacteria detected. As part of the requirements, a second round of follow-up sampling is also required to verify those results. That follow-up sampling was not completed within the required timeframe, which is why you received the letter. The notice was sent before the second set of test results was received; those results came back on Friday, February 6, and they were also clear.

The City of New Port Richey appreciates our customers’ understanding and remains dedicated to protecting public health and maintaining the integrity of our water system.

Public Notification

Monitoring Requirements Not Met

City of New Port Richey Public Water System

The City of New Port Richey is notifying customers that our public water system did not meet all required drinking water monitoring requirements during January 2026. This was not an emergency, and there is no indication that the water was unsafe to drink, but as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we are doing to correct the issue.

What happened?

Drinking water regulations require us to routinely monitor for specific contaminants, including bacteriological (total coliform and E. coli) samples, which are used as indicators of water quality.

During January 2026, the City collected the initial bacteriological samples at all required locations, and no samples tested positive for total coliform or E. coli bacteria. However, as per FDEP requirement and in accordance with city water quality standards, we conduct re-sampling and testing as a means of verifying the initial test results.  Because the required follow-up samples were not completed, the City did not fully meet monitoring requirements for that month.

What does this mean?

Total coliform bacteria are generally not harmful themselves, but they are used as an indicator that other, potentially harmful bacteria could be present. Because some required monitoring was not completed, we cannot fully verify water quality for that specific period, even though initial results were satisfactory.What should I do?

There is nothing you need to do at this time.
You may continue to drink the water. If future monitoring indicates a health concern, customers will be notified within 24 hours.

What is being done?

• The City is immediately collecting the samples that were missed in January
• Test results for those samples are expect by February 6, 2026
• Additional bacteriological sampling will be conducted throughout the month
• Regular monitoring will continue to ensure compliance and maintain safe drinking water

The City of New Port Richey is committed to providing safe, high-quality drinking water and to meeting all regulatory requirements.

For more information

Please contact the City of New Port Richey Public Works Department between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. at:
727-841-4536 or 727-841-4570

The City of New Port Richey Public Works Department has staff on call 24/7 - including weekends and holidays to respond to emergencies such as:

• Water main breaks
• Sewer Backups
• Missing or downed street signs
• Street Flooding

During normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.), please contact the Public Works Department directly. 

If you are unable to reach Public Works after hours, please call the City of New Port Richey Police Dispatch at (727) 841-4550. A Public Works team member will be dispatched to assist you. 

NPDES Sheets for Construction Documents(ZIP, 17MB)

10-Year Stormwater Master Plan(PDF, 6MB)

Stormwater Management Erosion Control Policy Criteria Manual(PDF, 685KB)

STORMWATER UTILITY SERVICE CHARGE CREDIT TECHNICAL MANUAL(PDF, 227KB)

Vulnerability Assessment(PDF, 41MB)

Street Lights:

Most street lights in the City are maintained by Duke Energy. If you notice a street light that is out or damaged, you can easily submit a repair request directly to Duke Energy through their online system. 

As a courtesy, the Public Works Department is also happy to assist residents by submitting a request on their behalf. 

Power Lines:

Duke Energy allows citizens to report a tree trimming request for primary power lines affected by a tree. Before submitting a request for tree trimming, Duke Energy requests citizens to review their "How We Manage Trees" page, as identification of what type of line that is affected is key to maintenance requests. Primary Lines are ranked a higher priority, whereas neutral lines trimmed during routine vegetation maintenance.