TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Missing Water's Trail Leads To County

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 18, 2007

Updated: 12/17/2007 09:23 pm

PORT RICHEY - City officials have been scratching their heads for weeks trying to figure out how this small municipality has been losing millions of gallons of water every month.

They've checked scores of water meters and tested distribution lines across the city; they've investigated local business owners thought to be using illegal hookups and reviewed utility department revenues and expenditures dating back several years.

Although the investigation is far from over, Port Richey officials say they have figured out where most of the missing water is going: into the county's water system.

"We have been putting water into the county's system, that much is clear," said interim City Manager Jim Mathieu. "How much and for how long, we haven't yet figured out."

Mathieu said city water likely has been flowing into the county's system through a connection at the Gulfview Square mall, where the county's and city's lines run in close proximity.

To be sure, city and county officials turned off water lines at the mall Friday morning. When they turned on the city's connection, the county lines to the mall filled with water.

"We know there's an interconnection there; the county's fire hydrants were pumping city water," Mathieu said. "Who knows, it may even be our fault, we just don't know yet."

Mathieu said he intends to discuss the matter with county officials in the next week and plans to raise the issue of getting compensated for millions of dollars in lost revenue.

"They're cooperating with us, and we're hoping that we can resolve this dispute," he said.

Bruce Kennedy, the county's assistant administrator for utility services, did not return a telephone call Monday. In the past, county officials have rejected the city's allegations.

Mayor Richard Rober, who runs a private utility in west Pasco, said cross-connections are common, but seldom do they amount to millions of gallons.

"We're losing a substantial amount of revenue," he said. "We need to get that back."

Mathieu, who was appointed interim manager in October, started investigating the water system after finding the city was paying for more than it was pumping.

He discovered that more than a quarter of the city's water supply was unaccounted for, a loss of between 5 million and 10 million gallons of drinking water every month for several years.

Utility workers started checking meters they suspected might be faulty, and found that some businesses were abusing the city's water system, either accidentally or intentionally.

City officials identified one of the culprits as the U.S.A. Auto Wash on U.S. 19, next to Wal-Mart. The business, they allege, was using irrigation water to wash cars, which is illegal, and pumping wastewater into the city's sewage system without paying for it.

The city is negotiating a settlement with the carwash's owner, Douglas Long, who they estimate owes the city more than $15,000 in wastewater charges.

There are other water system violators out there, city officials suggest.

Water purchases weigh heavily on the city's annual budget. More than 40 percent of its water comes from New Port Richey, which adds up to more than $400,000 a year.

Port Richey doesn't have a sewage treatment plant, meaning it has to pay the county to treat millions of gallons of wastewater discharged into the sewer system every month.

City officials also are preparing to tap a new wellfield that's capable of pumping millions of gallons a day, a move expected to end the city's long reliance on New Port Richey.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT