ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — Over 1,000 neighbors in Ormond-by-the-Sea are going head-to-head with Ormond Beach over a proposal that could change the community.
- Ormond-by-the-Sea residents fighting city proposal
- City wants to convert 4,000 septic tanks to sewers
- Homeowners concerned about what this will cost them
- Get more Volusia County coverage
It all centers around a proposal by Ormond Beach to convert their 4,000 septic tanks to sewer.
“They say that they need for us to get on to their sewer system, because supposedly our septic systems are causing a problem, but they don’t have any actual data to support that, nothing to show any pollution that they have been causing to the water, and they say this is all to help the Halifax river,” said Rashida Hakeem, an Ormond-By-the Sea resident.
Tuesday, Hakeem presented the Volusia County Council with a petition with over 1,000 signatures from neighbors who are all for a clean river but want more scientific testing done before this proposal goes further.
“We are upset because we are told we are going to have to pay for this conversion, and we don’t even necessarily believe that this conversion is even going to necessarily help the water quality," Hakeen said. "The Ormond Beach wastewater treatment plant dumps their fluids straight into the Halifax, so we could even be worsening the problem."
It’s opposition Ormond Beach Commissioner Dwight Selby never expected.
“I frankly was surprised that there are as many people that think that septic is better than central sewer," Selby said. "So that surprised me. I didn’t think anybody would come down on that side of the issue, and so it’s a valid concern. We should address it.”
How much this will cost homeowners is also a huge concern.
“So we know there is going to be an impact and individuals that are on fixed incomes, they can’t afford that. And then you add the daily where every month, you are getting that water bill, it’s going to potentially double because your sewer is connected with your water bill," said John Secord, an Ormond-By-the Sea resident.
Selby claims that is something they plan to keep in mind.
“If we can’t get the cost to the homeowner way, way, way lower than even the lowest estimate of those numbers that are being bannered around I won’t even support it,” said Selby.
While Selby is now recommending more testing, he says $1.1 million is being spent to design and permit the first phase of the project— and that is not stopping. He says they won’t know how much it will cost each household until that is done and they apply for funding.
“This is going to happen. If it doesn’t happen this year, it is going to happen next year, and if it doesn’t happen next year, it’s going to happen sometime in the future and I think we are all better off working together to make this as palatable as possible,” Selby said.
According to the commissioner, there are still a lot of details that need to be worked out surrounding this project, and the soonest that they could break ground on phase one would likely be in about a year.