Orange County wants to resolve years of water quality complaints in Wedgefield by buying the Pluris water plant. But Pluris is not ready to sell.
- Orange County considers buying Pluris Wedgefield plant
- Pluris so far is not interested in selling
- Wedgefield HOA to present the plant to homeowners
For years, neighbors in East Orange County’s Wedgefield neighborhood have complained about the quality, taste and price of their water.
“Not only will they become an Orange County utility customer, for most people, they will do so at a savings,” said Orange County Commissioner Ted Edwards.
The District 5 Commissioner said it would mean securing low-interest bonds. The cost – estimated to be between $10 and $30 million -- would be spread out over 1,700 homes, over the course of 20 years.
“It’s a starting point. We want all avenues to be continued to be investigated, so that the homeowner is not saddled with a bill,” said Pamela DiMarzio, who has lived in Wedgefield for the last 11 years. “I think the residents have spoken loudly and I’m happy to say that the County is giving this some attention.”
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DiMarzio said that she does everything to conserve water, like letting rain fill up her pool.
“I let nature water my lawn. I’m very frugal when I’m watering my vegetable garden,” she said, walking around her sunny patio.
DiMarzio said she does this not just to save the Earth, but because she and many of her neighbors are not happy with their water.
“When I first got here in ’05, there was some issues regarding TTHM, and we still have those issues to this day,” she explained.
TTHM, or Total Trihalomethanes, refers to chemical by-products of the disinfection process. In late spring, independent testing revealed high levels of the chemical, and over the summer Pluris was fined $1,250 for low chlorine residual levels.
The state’s Department of Environmental Protection said Pluris corrected the levels and paid the penalties, instituting a long-term corrective action plan.
Yet, for some homeowners living in Wedgefield, it was not enough. After hearing repeated neighbor complaints, Orange County Utilities Department drafted the proposal, currently under consideration by the Wedgefield Home Owner’s Association Board.
“By no means is it final. It’s tentative,” said DiMarzio, regarding the proposal. “There’s a lot of unknowns that go into it.”
DiMarzio said the HOA will present the plan to homeowners for consideration in coming weeks.
An aide to Commissioner Edwards said Pluris is aware of the proposal, but is not interested in selling. We reached out to Pluris to see if the proposal is viable, but have yet to hear back.