Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant

The Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant is an 18-acre sewage treatment facility operated by the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority. It was built in 1937 and underwent a major expansion in 1977. It is located north of Main Street between Clubbs and De Villiers Streets, and its proximity to Pensacola Bay makes it extremely vulnerable to storms. After sustaining serious damage from a 15-foot storm surge during Hurricane Ivan, the resulting three-day outage energized discussions to move the plant. The estimated $300 million cost of such a move (ameliorated by a $134 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has caused a great deal of controversy, and the plant was often cited in the debate over the Community Maritime Park.