ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An investigation into the Pluris Water Treatment Plant, in Wedgefield, was initiated by the Department of Environmental Protection after a former lab employee claimed his company falsified test results.
Talmon Price used to work collecting water samples for Tri-Tech Labs, a company contracted to test water at the Pluris plant.
He said he filed the complaint with the DEP last week after witnessing activities at the lab he believed to be inappropriate.
Some of those activities involved his superiors telling him to purposefully alter water samples, he said.
“I hate to say it, it was my job,” he said. “I was just doing what I was told to do how I was told to do it.”
In one instance, he was told to get a clean water sample and it didn’t matter where it came from, he said.
“(My superior) slammed the bottle on the ground and says, ‘I don’t care where you get it, just go get it,’ so I felt like I had to,” Price said. “I went around the corner and I filled it up with water out of the spigot at the office building and took it back and she said, ‘Thank you, I’ll make it work.’”
Water quality has been a topic of discussion in Wedgefield for years, and residents have voiced concern multiple times.
The recent investigation into the plant did not involve independent water sample testing but was a re-examination of data already provided by the Pluris plant, the DEP said.
The DEP investigation did not find any issues with water quality at the plant.
Water from the plant was determined to be safe to drink and Pluris was found to be in compliance with state regulations, the investigation determined.
Pluris issued the following response: "Pluris Wedgefield recognizes that it has a responsibility to provide quality drinking water that meets all federal and state standards. In meeting its responsibility, Pluris hired Tri-Tech Laboratories, a State of Florida NELAC certified laboratory to perform independent sampling and testing of our water quality. Pluris Wedgefield was very concerned when it first learned of the allegations and contacted Tri-Tech Laboratories executives to express our concern. We are pleased that a subsequent review by the FDEP confirmed that Pluris is producing safe drinking water and in full compliance with FDEP regulations."