SANFORD, Fla. — City of Sanford officials say a project aimed at alleviating sewage issues is underway. That’s after three restaurants in downtown Sanford have expressed concerns and frustration.

The problems stem from the aging vacuum sewage system installed 30 years ago, struggling to keep up with the overall growth in the area.

What You Need To Know

  • Downtown Sanford faces sewage challenges due to an outdated system installed 30 years ago, causing problems for three local restaurants

  • City officials proposed a million-dollar project to create individual lift stations for Hollerbach's German Restaurant, Sanford Brewing Company, and Tuffy's, offering a more efficient sewage management solution

  • The design phase is complete, with the bidding process starting on February 8

Mayor Art Woodruff said the city’s solution is to remove the three businesses from the main vacuum system. Now, with the completion of the project’s design phase, it seems progress is underway.

One affected restaurant owner, Christina Hollerbach of Hollerbach’s German Restaurant, shared the costly challenges they’ve faced.

“We have all these bladders that we shove into the drain, so it re-routes all the water into one spot and then we have a backup system we purchased to pump everything out into the alleyway, so that it goes into the drainage system,” said Hollerbach. 

Hollerbach says the issue has had a big impact on their business, expressing disappointment in turning away customers due to plumbing issues.

“To me, it’s that disappointment from guests. We have people that travel for miles to visit us and they roll up and I have to turn them away, because the city’s plumbing isn’t operating,” said Hollerbach. “That’s embarrassing for the city — it hurts me as a business owner and we may lose those guests and visitors to Sanford for life because of incidents like that.”

The issue not only affects Hollerbach German Restaurant, but Sanford Brewing Company and Tuffys are impacted as well. 

City of Sanford Utilities Operations Manager Cedrick Coleman shed light on the proposed solution. Taking the three restaurants off the aging vacuum system and providing individual lift stations is seen as the most effective course of action. 

“It’ll give them 99.9% of being able to operate in efficient capacity, that’s the great value by going on this lift station because it’ll have the capacity that they need a backup generator that’s there, so if they do close, it’ll be because of something of their own nature, unless there’s a catastrophic failure in the system itself,” he said.

The project is set to go out to bid on February 8, and once a contractor is selected, construction is expected to commence shortly after. The anticipated completion date is by the end of the next January.

Sanford leaders say the project will cost the city about a million dollars.