FDEP Inspects Century Drinking Water, Sewer Systems Monday As Lawsuit Heats Up

June 23, 2026

As a lawsuit is pending in the court system, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) inspected the Town of Century Wastewater Treatment Plant and an out-of-service water well on Academy Street on Monday.

The FDEP visit, which Mayor Ben Boutwell said was the agency’s first inspection in Century since November 2025, came as activity in the court case heats up.

FDEP filed a sweeping lawsuit against the Town of Century, citing dozens of chronic violations at both its wastewater treatment facility and its public drinking water system.

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The lawsuit, filed on August 29, 2024, in the Escambia County Circuit Court, seeks injunctive relief and civil penalties exceeding $50,000 for systemic failures to maintain infrastructure, meet water quality standards, and properly monitor public utilities.

Broken Promises at the Wastewater Plant

According to court documents, the town entered into a legally binding Consent Order with the FDEP on June 24, 2022, to address ongoing issues at its wastewater facility, which treats sewage for a population of over 3,100 residents and inmates. However, a follow-up state inspection on November 21, 2023, revealed that Century had failed to execute almost all required corrective actions.

Unresolved infrastructure and operational issues at the wastewater plant include:

  • Effluent Violations: The facility exceeded its permitted discharge limits 36 times between March 2022 and the filing of the complaint. This included 13 exceedances for total ammonia nitrogen, 13 for fecal coliform, and four for total residual chlorine.
  • Infrastructure Neglect: Key equipment—including the facility’s tertiary filters and sludge/belt presses—was completely non-operational or removed without replacement. Inspectors also found cracked plant walls wicking fluids and an overgrown reject pond.
  • Unreported Sewage Overflows: The town failed to timely report active wastewater spills flowing onto the ground, as well as three separate sanitary sewer overflows that occurred in March and July of 2023.

Drinking Water Hazards and Safety Failures

The FDEP also detailed a long list of violations within Century’s potable water system following a comprehensive sanitary survey on January 11, 2024. State officials allege the town has severely neglected the maintenance and security of its three drinking water wells.

Key drinking water violations include:

  • Critically Low Chlorine Levels: In January 2024, state testing revealed free-chlorine residuals of just 0.04 mg/L at City Hall and a completely depleted 0.0 mg/L at the Century Courthouse distribution center. State rules require a minimum residual of 0.2 mg/L to ensure proper disinfection.
  • Missed Contaminant Testing: The town repeatedly skipped required chemical and health screenings, missing annual disinfection byproduct monitoring in 2021 and 2023, lead and copper tap sampling across three separate years, and nitrate/nitrite testing at Well 1.
  • Severe Lack of Safety Equipment: Operators were left unprotected due to a total lack of required emergency eyewashes, safety showers, and drench hoses. Additionally, a required self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) was missing from gas chlorination rooms.
  • Security Gaps: Enclosure doors at Well 3 (Blackmon Street) were found broken and unable to lock, alongside a completely shattered glass door, leaving the infrastructure vulnerable to tampering or vandalism.
  • Boil Water Notice Delay: On January 17, 2024, the town issued a precautionary boil water notice but failed to notify the FDEP within the required 24-hour window. The state only discovered the notice through a NorthEscambia.com article.

Legal Repercussions

The state outlines that Century’s leadership possesses full knowledge of these infrastructure breakdowns but has failed to steer the utilities back into compliance. FDEP is asking the court to order the town to immediately fix the infrastructure and is seeking ongoing civil penalties of up to $15,000 per day, per violation, alongside the recovery of the state’s legal fees and investigative costs.

Current Case Status

Boutwell said Monday’s visit gave FDEP a chance to see firsthand improvements that have actually been made, and learn about other improvements that are pending due to equipment shipping delays.

Active litigation was halted in April 2025 when both parties notified the court that they had reFrydrychowiczached a preliminary agreement to settle all pending claims. The court granted a sequence of stays to allow the FDEP and the town to formalize their arrangement into a consent final judgment.

The case was placed on hold under an extended abatement period. Following a joint status report on April 28, 2026, Circuit Court Judge Jennifer J. Frydrychowicz issued an Order Placing Case in Active Status and Requiring Updated Case Management Order, officially pulling the case out of abeyance and reopening it.

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The town was ordered to formally retain legal counsel within 20 days, after which both parties were directed to submit a motion to establish a new, updated timeline of discovery and pre-trial deadlines. In compliance with the order, the Town of Century retained Timothy P. Atkinson and Segundo J. Fernandez of Oertel, Fernandez, Bryant & Atkinson, P.A. as their defense counsel.

Because defense counsel was recently brought on and needed time to review the complex history and merits of the case, the town filed an unopposed motion for more time. Judge Frydrychowicz granted this request, giving the parties up to and including July 1 to propose their new case management deadlines.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under TOP STORIES