TALLAHASSEE, FL — Gov. Charlie Crist is expected to sign a bill, passed unanimously by both houses of the state Legislature, that will eventually close down six pipes that discharge treated wastewater from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties into the Atlantic Ocean, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported April 30.

When the discharges end by 2025, the effluent that would have gone into the ocean will instead have to be redirected for recycling and reuse, possibly by treatment to a higher level, the newspaper said.

The Florida House approved the bill 118-0 without debate on April 30, and the state Senate had earlier approved it 39-0, according to the article.

The effort is expected to save 300 million gallons of water that is now dumped into the ocean each day from the three large counties, an amount one legislator said was also about how much more potable water will be needed in the region in the next 20 years.

Environmental groups and marine biologists, who have said the current discharges have damaged offshore coral reefs, praised the latest action, the story said.

Costs of implementation over the next 17 years will vary by community, and some communities in the counties have already begun some recycling efforts, according to the article.

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