water customers - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T14:11:52Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/water+customersDelray Beach: City jettisons utilities inspectorhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-city-jettisons-utilities-inspector2022-02-02T16:32:43.000Z2022-02-02T16:32:43.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /> <br />When Delray Beach reorganized its Utilities Department in late January, it abruptly ended the employment of an industrial pretreatment inspector. <br /> “It was done for efficiency and austerity reasons,” City Manager Terrence Moore said on Jan. 28. He approved the reorganization. <br /> The inspector, Christine Ferrigan, was notified on Jan. 26 that her services were no longer needed, effective immediately. <br /> Ferrigan declined to comment. <br /> Hired in June 2017, Ferrigan often sided with barrier island residents and provided information to the Florida Department of Health after it began investigating the city’s reclaimed water program in January 2020.<br /> In late 2018, Ferrigan interviewed people and inspected South Ocean Boulevard locations where residents were reported being sickened after reclaimed water was connected. It apparently mixed with drinking water. <br /> The city issued a boil-water order in that area in December 2018. <br /> In February 2020, Delray Beach shut down its entire reclaimed water system to avoid a citywide boil-water order, triggered by a South Ocean Boulevard resident’s complaint.<br /> That investigation led city commissioners to sign a consent order on Nov. 9 with the Health Department, agreeing to pay $1 million in civil fines for violations in the city’s water program.<br /> Since Dec. 1, Delray Beach has operated under a Health Department consent order that lasts five years. <br /> The next consent order deadline for Delray Beach is Feb. 28, when a quarterly progress report is due, ensuring all reclaimed water customers comply with the rules. </p></div>South Palm Beach: Mayor critical of West Palm response to contaminant in waterhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-mayor-critical-of-west-palm-response-to-contamin2021-06-02T17:21:13.000Z2021-06-02T17:21:13.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9026134279,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9026134279,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9026134279?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Kristin and Frank Augustine were among several South Palm Beach customers in a matter of minutes to buy drinking water on Memorial Day at the Publix in Plaza del Mar. Right after they did, an employee restocked the supply with 14 cases of bottled water. </em><strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer says the city of West Palm Beach has to do a better job of notifying the town’s water customers when problems arise.<br /> It took West Palm officials about eight days last month to announce that the city’s water had an unacceptably high level of the blue-green algae contaminant cylindrospermopsin and posed a risk to physically vulnerable customers.<br /> “It’s very concerning,” Fischer said. “It was happening long before we knew about it and people had been drinking it for days. That’s the most concerning thing.”<br /> West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James defended the city’s response during a news conference on May 30, saying it took eight days to confirm the problem with testing.<br /> “I’m aware of the concerns expressed that the city should have informed the public sooner,” he said. “We stand by our decision to test to confirm the initial high test results, those supplemental confirmation tests, and we could not tell the public until we received guidance from the Florida Department of Health.”<br /> James said not all utilities test for the toxin and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t list it among the worst contaminants. He said the advisory applies only to people with health conditions and children. He expected the advisory to not drink the water to last until the first weekend in June.<br /> “This is uncharted territory for not just the city, but also for the state,” said Poonam Kalkat, West Palm Beach Public Utilities director. <br /> Even after West Palm Beach officials disclosed the problem on May 28, South Palm Beach’s residents were left in the dark. Fischer said they didn’t receive text messages or robocalls from the Palm Beach County Health Department, though West Palm Beach residents did.<br /> “It’s disturbing,” she said, “and it’s happened before.”<br /> Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2019, a water main break in the town necessitated a boil-water order from health officials. To notify South Palm Beach residents, Fischer had to print out flyers and take them to each condo building. This time, sheriff’s deputies distributed the flyers.<br /> South Palm Beach and Palm Beach get their water from West Palm, which opened several distribution sites for bottled water but none of them on barrier islands. Customers emptied the shelves of water products at the Publix at Plaza del Mar once they got word of the contamination.<br /> South Palm’s Town Council has been looking for better ways to communicate with residents by phone or internet alerts, and the water problems figure to intensify the effort.</p></div>Manalapan/Hypoluxo: Town plans offer to Hypoluxo water customers by end of yearhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-hypoluxo-town-plans-offer-to-hypoluxo-water-customers-b2016-11-02T16:27:18.000Z2016-11-02T16:27:18.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br /> Manalapan Vice Mayor Peter Isaac thinks the town should move quickly to try to persuade Hypoluxo water customers to sign a new long-term contract, and his fellow commissioners agree with him.<br /> So the plan is to get Manalapan’s best offer on the table by the end of the year.<br /> The 550 Hypoluxo customers are being wooed by Boynton Beach Utilities — a much larger system than Manalapan that is capable of delivering savings that could be as much as 50 percent per household. <br /> Boynton officials say about 90 percent of Hypoluxo residents would benefit from the city utility’s tiered fee structure that links charges to the amount of water actually used.<br /> Isaac believes losing Hypoluxo would undermine the financial viability of Manalapan’s system, which has only about 250 of its customers in the town.<br /> “If we can keep Hypoluxo, then there’s no question we can keep our water plant. It’s a no-brainer,” Isaac said. “Hypoluxo has a very attractive offer from Boynton. We have one shot at trying to keep Hypoluxo. It’s what in negotiation terms is called a fading opportunity.”<br /> While Manalapan may not be able to compete with Boynton in price after 2020, when the current Hypoluxo contract expires, the town could offer to roll back rates for the next three years as part of a long-term deal that makes the total cost competitive.<br /> One idea is offering Hypoluxo customers an immediate 20 percent rate cut in exchange for locking them in to a 30-year contract.<br /> Commissioners think they also have a selling point in quality. They believe their plant produces better-tasting water than Boynton’s.<br /> Town Manager Linda Stumpf said a consultant, Kevin O’Donnell of Nova Energy Consultants in Cary, N.C., is finishing a rate study that will give the commissioners a better idea of what they can offer Hypoluxo. Stumpf said O’Donnell could have the numbers ready by the Nov. 15 town meeting, so the commission can accelerate efforts to make a proposal to Hypoluxo.<br /> “We’ve got to do everything we can to secure our customer base,” Isaac said.<br /> Overall, Hypoluxo accounts for about one-third of Manalapan’s total usage but accounts for roughly one-half of the town utility’s total revenues.<br />In other business:<br /> • Stumpf said the completion date for the Audubon Causeway bridge project has been pushed back another two weeks because of problems replacing a water main. She said the contractor expects the work to be completed around Thanksgiving.<br /> The town’s architectural commission has decided on the colors for the bridge walls: Alpine white, with gray trim.<br /> • After considerable discussion, commissioners decided against writing an ordinance to protect nesting sea turtles and opted instead to continue adhering to regulations set by Palm Beach County. The state requires that municipalities have rules on the books to restrict light during nesting season, March through October.<br /> The towns of Palm Beach and South Palm Beach have passed their own ordinances, said Town Attorney Keith Davis, but most coastal communities have not and follow the county rules.<br /> Municipalities with their own ordinances must handle enforcement themselves.<br /> “It’s an adversarial situation and I’d rather have the county be the adversary,” said Mayor David Cheifetz. Commissioners agreed.</p></div>Hypoluxo: Town officials explore future of water supplyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/hypoluxo-town-officials-explore-future-of-water-supply2016-08-03T19:14:31.000Z2016-08-03T19:14:31.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Willie Howard</strong><br /><br /> Manalapan needs water customers in Hypoluxo if the town wants to stay in the water business.<br /> Hypoluxo officials understand that, so they’re looking for rate cuts as they consider where to get water after the town’s water contract with Manalapan expires in September 2020.<br /> During their July 20 meeting, Hypoluxo council members said they are in a good position to negotiate lower water rates — rates that could take effect well before the town’s contract with Manalapan ends.<br /> “Manalapan needs to show us some good faith now, not in 2018 and not in 2020,” Hypoluxo Vice Mayor Michael Brown said. <br /> “If they don’t show us good faith now,” Brown said, “we should tell them that in 2020 there’s a very, very good chance we’re going to go with Boynton Beach.”<br /> Manalapan officials have been discussing whether to sell the town’s water system to Boynton Beach. If they plan to keep the system, they need a long-term water supply agreement with Hypoluxo, a consultant told them in June. About 600 water customers in Hypoluxo use about a third of the water produced by Manalapan’s plant and provide about half of the system’s revenue, according to consultant Kevin O’Donnell of Nova Energy Consultants in Cary, N.C.<br /> Brown said Manalapan should at least eliminate the 20 percent nonresident surcharge that Hypoluxo water customers pay.<br /> Brown also suggested that Hypoluxo approach Manalapan about becoming part owners of the Manalapan water plant so that Hypoluxo would have some control over the town’s water supply in the years ahead.<br /> O’Donnell told Manalapan officials in June that the town’s water system is profitable and worth keeping — but only if they keep Hypoluxo customers connected.<br /> He recommended offering Hypoluxo customers a 20 percent rate reduction if Hypoluxo officials agree to use Manalapan water for 30 years after the current contract expires.<br /> Town Manager Linda Stumpf said Manalapan commissioners have taken the consultant’s rate-cut recommendation “under advisement” but have not discussed lowering rates for Hypoluxo customers beyond that.<br /> Brown said he liked the quality of Manalapan’s water. But he said Manalapan’s rates should be based more on water consumption and less on base rates tied to meter sizes.<br /> Hypoluxo Councilman William Smith said water suppliers should compete for the town’s customers just as providers of garbage collection and other services do.<br /> “Let them come in, make presentations, and we’ll choose,” Smith said.<br /> Hypoluxo Mayor Ken Schultz said officials from Boynton Beach and Manalapan would make separate water-supply presentations to the town council at the August and September council meetings. <br /> Stumpf said Manalapan will make a water presentation to the Hypoluxo council at some point, but she said it would not be in August.</p></div>