In Indian Creek Village, a heavily guarded Florida enclave with celebrity and billionaire homeowners and expansive waterfront properties, one outdated utility has remained in place for years: septic tanks.
What's happening?
According to NewsNation, a major infrastructure change is underway. The human-made island has 41 lots, 86 residents, a private golf club, and a single bridge linking it to the mainland, and now, the community is moving from septic tanks to an in-ground sewer system.
Among the notable residents are Jeff Bezos, Tom Brady, Julio Iglesias, Carl Icahn, and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, NewsNation reported. The outlet also noted Mark Zuckerberg spent $170 million on a 28,000-square-foot waterfront estate, while Bezos reportedly bought three properties there for redevelopment.
Privacy has long been part of the island's appeal. "The security itself is extremely tight," Corcoran Group broker associate Julian Johnston told Fox Business, per NewsNation. "When you drive up, if you don't have permission to get on, [the police] are actually quite rude, and they tell you to go away."
Johnston described the location as a "political sanctuary."
Despite the extravagant security measures, the community has lived on septic services since the Great Depression era when it was founded. In recent years, the village has maneuvered to connect the island to a neighboring sewer system through an underground line.
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However, there is tension with local communities about the upgrade. NewsNation reported that officials were unable to strike a deal with Surfside to use that town's sewer infrastructure. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett had proposed that Indian Creek pay $10 million to help offset system costs, the outlet reported, citing The New York Times.
However, in 2025, state lawmakers added a provision to legislation that NewsNation said "effectively gives the upper hand" to the community. Now, the village has more power to plan its sewer line and connect it to a neighboring town.
Burkett described the legislative move as "creative," while former Surfside Mayor Paul Novack was more blunt, saying, per the Times: "Florida's government is frequently manipulated by special interests. It's not surprising. This is just another day in Tallahassee."
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