Storm Sewer · Outfalls · Watermain · Forcemain · Sanitary Sewer
Water In. Waste Out. Storm Away.
The Difference
Utility infrastructure design for municipalities, contractors and developers across South Florida. Storm sewer and outfalls, watermain, forcemain, gravity sewer and connections, designed by an engineer who spent years in the field watching this work go in the ground.
The Ground Is Already Full.
A new pipe is the easy part. The hard part is that the corridor you are putting it in already contains somebody else’s water, somebody else’s gas, somebody else’s fiber, and a storm line that may or may not be where the record says it is.
Most design firms treat that as an afterthought and let the contractor find out. We treat it as the design.
What that looks like in practice:
- Utility research and as-built review for the project area, before the design starts
- 811 design ticket coordination and direct coordination with the utility agency owners
- Utility conflict coordination and a conflict matrix, so the conflicts are resolved on paper instead of in a trench
- SUE coordination where the project calls for it
- Survey and geotechnical review for completeness, so a gap in the data doesn’t become a change order
- Field visits to see the actual conditions rather than the recorded ones
And this is where the field experience matters. Christopher spent years on utility construction and inspection before running the design side, on millions of dollars of this exact work. That’s why our sheets anticipate the conflict, the tie-in, and the thing that’s going to be awkward at three in the afternoon in a live corridor.
A design drawn by someone who has never watched a crew try to build it is a design that gets value-engineered in the field.
Standards & Agencies
The Rules Just Changed. Again.
Miami-Dades Chapter 24 code has been revised, and the new drainage rules apply to work going in the ground right now. Water quality and water quantity calculations have to meet the countys water control section. Close coordination with the regulatory department is what separates a permittable plan from a plan that keeps coming back.
Thats one county, one code, one year. Broward and Palm Beach have their own, the utilities have their own on top of that, and all of it keeps moving. Tracking it is our job, not yours.
Who has to say yes, depending on your project:
Utilities & Water
MD-WASD Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Department
Municipal public works Water and sewer divisions
DRER Regulatory and Economic Resources
DERM Department of Environmental Resources Management
State & Regional
FDEP Florida Department of Environmental Protection
FDOT Florida Department of Transportation, for work in state right of way
SFWMD South Florida Water Management District
Local
Local Public Works City and county public works departments across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach
Private Property Stakeholders Stakeholders whose land the work touches
Clients
Cities, Contractors, Developers,and Other Engineers
Municipalities & Public Agencies
Cities bring us in directly for infrastructure they own, including failing outfalls and storm systems that need to be back in service now. We handle the kickoff, the coordination meetings, the stakeholder logs, and the documentation a public project has to produce.
Site & Utility Contractors
You need plan and profile you can build from, an engineer who understands what happens in a live corridor, and someone who will be there for the field test and the closeout.
Developers
Your development needs the public system to accommodate it, which means upsizing somebody elses main before you can connect to it. We design that, and we coordinate it with the utility and the city.
Engineering Firms
We have worked alongside other consulting engineering firms on municipal utility upgrades, bringing the utility and construction side to projects that need it.
How It Works
From Kickoff to Closeout
Scope & Proposal
We review the project, the records, the existing system, and which agencies and utilities it answers to. You get a proposal with the scope, the assumptions, and the exclusions in writing.
Kickoff & Project Management
We participate in or lead the kickoff, then hold periodic coordination meetings in person or by teleconference to review findings, track progress, and surface issues while they are still small.
Data Collection & Utility Coordination
Field visits, as-built research, utility design ticket coordination, utility conflict matrix, survey and geotechnical review, and pre-design permitting coordination with every stakeholder.
Design: 60% / 90% / 100%
Technical memorandum and plan and profile at 60%, review-ready plans and permitting matrix at 90%, construction-ready documents at 100%. Drawn to each utilitys and agencys standards from
the start.
Review & Comment Response
Comments come to the Engineer of Record and get assessed immediately. Included in the fee.
Construction Support & Closeout
Shop drawing review, start-up and field testing for certification, as-built review, punch list, and engineering certification of completed work.
Why Us
Why Cities and Contractors Choose SOTEK
01 All four systems, one engineer
Storm, potable, gravity sanitary and forcemain. One seal, one point of contact, no coordination gaps.
02 We know whats already down there
As-built research, 811 coordination, and a utility conflict matrix. Conflicts get resolved on paper, not in a trench.
03 Field experience behind every sheet
Years of hands-on utility construction and inspection on millions of dollars of this work. Our designs anticipate what actually happens in a live corridor.
04 Current on the requirements
Chapter 24 has been revised. Water control section standards apply. Tracking all of it is our job, and we design to whats in effect now.
05 Municipalities hire us directly
Public agencies bring us in for infrastructure they own, including systems that have already failed.
06 Were there at closeout
Field testing, certification, as-builts and punch list. The job ends when the file closes, not when the pipe is buried.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast can plans be ready for review?
Preliminary plans are ready for agency review within 30 business days of Notice to Proceed and receipt of survey. Larger municipal work runs on a 60/90/100 submittal schedule instead, and we’ll lay that out at proposal.
Do I need a survey and a geotechnical report?
Usually both. Topographic survey of the property and utilities showing existing conditions is what the design is built on, and it’s typically performed by an independent licensed surveyor. Geotechnical and percolation testing is contracted separately. We review both for completeness before we design against them, because a gap in that data becomes a problem later.
Who submits the plans?
Submittal is typically handled by the client, the contractor, or a permit runner, and construction permits are usually obtained by the contractor. What SOTEK does is make sure the package is right before it goes in, coordinate with the permitting entities ahead of time, and handle every comment that comes back.
Will I get charged extra when an agency asks for changes?
No. Agency-requested revisions are included in the fee.
Can you upsize an existing main to accommodate my development?
Yes. That’s a common one. Your project can’t connect until the public system can carry it, which means designing an upgrade to infrastructure you don’t own, coordinated with the utility and the city. We’ve done this work.
Do you handle utility conflicts, or is that on my contractor?
We handle it. As-built research, 811 design ticket coordination, and a utility conflict matrix are part of how we design. Finding a conflict in a trench costs a day at best and a redesign at worst.
Do you do the field testing and certification?
Yes, where the project calls for it. Start-up and testing for certification, as-built review, punch list development, and engineering certification of completed work.
Do you work on municipal projects?
Yes. Cities hire us directly for infrastructure they own, and we’ve worked alongside other consulting engineering firms on municipal utility upgrades.
What isn't included?
We put exclusions in writing in every proposal. Typically that means agency and utility fees, construction costs, geotechnical and percolation testing, boundary and topographic surveys unless contracted, landscaping and irrigation, and site civil or paving and grading outside the defined scope. You’ll never be surprised by an exclusion after the fact.
Which counties do you work in?
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, including the municipal jurisdictions within them.
Tell Us What's Failing, or What You're Building.
You’ll get a proposal with the scope, the assumptions, and the exclusions in writing, plus an engineer who knows what’s already under that street before the first line is drawn.
Call Christopher directly · (786) 597-7894
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