Over $5 million in state funding could be going down the toilet if a local legislator postpones a transition to sewers from septic tanks for homeowners throughout Orange County.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Bryan Nelson, the new commissioner of Orange County, has sent a letter to homeowners in the area notifying them that a massive sewage upheaval may be postponed while the county finds better alternative solutions.
It all began one year ago, when former commissioner Fred Brummer signed a $6.6 million bill to shut down the septic tanks of 367 homes near the Wekiva Springs and connect them to municipal sewer lines.
While many homeowners were against the bill, Brummer noted that they would not have to pay much for the transition since most of the funding came from the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
“They were going to have to put up with the aggravation of having their streets torn up, but that was about it,” Brummer said.
In an Angie’s List poll, about 73% of homeowners say they’d pay more for sewer pipe replacement if it would preserve their existing landscaping and other outdoor features. Several Orange County homeowners may have just endured a year of invasive sewage work in their neighborhoods with nothing to show for it.
Nelson halted the conversion after saying the county should focus on more cost-effective projects that “deliver more bang for our buck.” His decision has drawn mixed reviews as many are concerned with the new commissioner’s dismissal of a $5 million, year-long investment.
Leaders of local environmental groups believe that keeping the septic tanks is endangering the long-term health of the Wekiva River and its tributaries, which are popular destinations for swimming, canoeing, and other water sports.
According to environmental health blog GrowingBlue, more than 60 million people in the U.S. are served by septic tanks. It notes that some communities report a whopping 70% failure rate of these tanks, which is part of the reason that environmental groups are looking to keep them away from the Wekiva Springs.
State scientists contend that seepage from over 60,000 residential septic tanks near the basin have resulted in high levels of nitrates in the river, a dangerous pollutant that damages the ecosystem and carries serious health risks.
Nelson has proposed less-costly alternatives to the sewer transition, suggesting that the county could start by shutting down septic systems used by nonresidential entities near the springs, such as the Apopka Library and Camp Thunderbird.
Although the state money pledged for the sewer conversion would be lost if Nelson’s postponement is approved, “it hopefully would be put toward other [and] better projects that will help the springs,” he said.
