A large-scale senior living community in Seminole County is pushing to replace aging infrastructure in hopes of preventing future environmental problems.

At a meeting Wednesday, the property owner of the Palm Valley neighborhood will ask Seminole County’s Development Review Committee to approve the site plan for a new wastewater treatment plant. The new facility would be built on 227 acres near the site of the community’s current wastewater plant.

Palm Valley is a 55-plus community established in the early 1990s with approximately 790 homes.

Dale Flanagan has lived in the neighborhood for six years and recognized the need for a new facility, but had concerns about the cost that might be passed on to residents.

“Progress is a good thing. If we can get better service for what we pay, which is a lot,” Flanagan said. “I’m on a fixed income. I’m on Social Security and my wife, that’s all we got. Every time something goes up, it makes it a little more stressful on us.”

Residents in the Palm Valley neighborhood hope to see a quick timetable for work on their new plant once the plan is approved. Wednesday’s Development Review Committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m.

The push for a new plant comes as a neighboring city works through a similar project. In July, Winter Springs broke ground on the first of two new wastewater treatment facilities.

That project was approved following a 2020 malfunction in the city’s current facility that led to more than 10,000 gallons of partially treated sewage spilling into nearby waterways. Construction on the first plant is expected to be completed in 2028.