PALM BAY, Fla. — Big changes could mean a big bill for folks living in Palm Bay, and it’s all over how you flush your toilet.
- Palm Bay residents may have to connect to sewer system
- Some Palm Bay residents not happy with the ordinance
- Ordinance will be discussed at Thursday’s city council meeting
For Palm Bay residents using a septic system, things might be changing if new ordinance 2019-71 passes, creating Chapter 203, “Mandatory Connection to Potable Water and Sewer Utilities.”
The utilities department wants the city council to approve and adopt a mandatory connection ordinance for Palm Bay's centralized water and sewer system. It would force everyone to connect to the city's water and sewer system.
According to the city’s utilities department, it incurred the cost to install existing infrastructure and still has to dish out the cash to maintain it regardless of usage.
According to city documents, a home owner using a septic system would be required to pay the connection charges associated with it.
If the ordinance passes, it would create a onetime revenue of $11.5 million in impact fees and about $8 million in main-line extension fees.
Palm Bay residents like Glenn Bennett who use septic are not happy about the possible ordinance. He said his neighbors feel the same way.
“They want to keep their original system the way they have it and don't want to change. Plus it costs more money. There is always going to be a problem in the community,” he said.
The city stands to generate almost $2 million annually on ongoing user rates, but Bennett says he's not on board. He said he would say money running off of septic versus sewer.
The ordinance is going through its first reading Thursday night and in part it said all developed property within the sewer service area has to connect to a sewer utility within 365 days of the final notice otherwise they could be in violation of the ordinance.
According to ordinance documents, the groundwater contamination, algae blooms along with the continued use of septic tanks constitutes a danger to public health.
Bennett says the solution is simple: Repair the leak.
“If it’s leaking out to the water then you want to stop it from doing that. You don't want to contaminate the water, especially with the wildlife — dolphins, manatees, all the wildlife we have in Florida the beautiful reason you come to Florida,” Bennett explained.
The ordinance will be discussed at Thursday’s city council meeting at 7 p.m.