Ocean Ridge and Boynton Beach are exploring the idea of creating an independent water authority to control and operate the city’s drinking water facilities. The separate utility could also include other current and future communities receiving Boynton Beach water, such as Gulf Stream, Briny Breezes and Hypoluxo.
Ocean Ridge Town Manager Michelle Heiser briefed her commission on the discussions at an Aug. 31 budget workshop, and Boynton Beach city commissioners will hear a presentation at their Sept. 16 meeting.
Town commissioners said they’re willing to investigate the idea and Heiser identified $300,000 in the budget — if needed — for reports or consultants.
Boynton Beach is talking with Palm Beach County about the county taking over the city’s utility, so its commission has competing possibilities to weigh.
But Deputy City Manager Andrew Mack, who met with Heiser and attended the workshop, said, “It does look like this would be the direction we would go.”
A benefit for Ocean Ridge would be to allow the town to move its infrastructure burdens — the town is about $3 million into a $30 million water pipe replacement plan, Heiser said — over to the authority.
Officials compared the proposal to the Seacoast Utility Authority, established in 1988, that serves some 56,000 households in Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach, Lake Park, Juno Beach and some unincorporated areas of North County.
In basic terms, it’s also like the South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, serving Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, that has an appointed governing board and provides sewer services.
— Larry Barszewski
Road work to solve water neglect
Work on a $1.9 million water main improvement project along a 2-mile stretch of State Road A1A in Ocean Ridge is expected to be completed by the end of the year, contractors told town commissioners in August.
Extending from Corrine Street to Ocean Avenue, the project will increase water pressure and enhance fire protection, contractors said. Fire hydrants on the west side of the road are also being replaced.
W. Clark Cryer, president of the Lantana-based Johnson-Davis underground utility company, said traffic snarls are inevitable. The project is using portable traffic signals that let vehicles pass in a single lane.
“Like any improvements, there are growing pains,” he said. “It’s like you get sore when you work out — you get bumps and bruises,” he said.
But, he said, he was hopeful the impact would be minimal. Since work began in July, regular updates have been posted on the town’s social media platforms. Those interested in receiving text alerts on their phones can do so by signing up on the town’s website, oceanridge.gov.
— Jane Musgrave
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