ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Starting Nov. 15, people in Wedgefield can expect to see Orange County Utility crews in their neighborhoods.
The crews need to assess equipment belonging to the Pluris Wedgefield Water and Waste Water System before the county commits to buying Pluris.
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In the meantime, water bills in the town of Wedgefield could go up 46 to 108 percent for various services by the end of the year.
In mid-September, Pluris officially applied for interim rate increases that are scheduled to go before the Public Service Commission on Dec. 5.
If approved, rate hikes would be 46 percent for drinking water and 108 percent for wastewater. Pluris said they would take effect around Dec. 13.
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“Pluris has not had a full rate case since 2012, and over that approximately 10-year period costs have risen,” said a company spokesperson.
Residents worry the proposed rate hikes will send their property values plummeting and force some of their neighbors out. The water provider already mails out some of the biggest bills in Central Florida.
A report to Orange County Commissioners showed the average Pluris bill is nearly double that of an Orange County Utility customer.
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“I am lucky in the fact that I can absorb the cost, as painful as it would be. Some people if they’re living paycheck to paycheck, this could cause them to panic,” said 23-year Wedgefield resident Adam Nehr.
According to Pluris, the rate increases would have been delayed if county commissioners agreed to buy the system for $30 million back in September.
During a September county commission meeting where the proposal was discussed, commissioners were warned by Orange County Utilities that the $30 million acquisition price doesn’t consider the potential millions that would need to be spent to fix operations on the facility that has existed since the 1960s.
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Commissioners did not commit to an acquisition at that meeting but ultimately okayed Phase 3 of a possible purchase. That phase includes an $83,000 appraisal assessment to determine the potential true cost.
According to the county, Orange County Utilities staff and their approved vendors will soon get started on that next phase.
They will begin a condition assessment by inspecting pump stations, treatment facilities, manholes, fire hydrants, and groundwater wells in Wedgefield neighborhoods in mid-November.
That assessment process should last a few weeks and the county says the findings would be presented to commissioners in the spring of 2024.
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“The house is on fire. The first thing you have to do is get the hose. So the county is the hose,” said Nehr.
Some residents, including Nehr, believe a county purchase is the only viable option. He’s hoping his neighbors will head to upcoming community meetings to discuss the purchase so they can draw their own conclusions.
Commissioners said they won’t move forward with the purchase unless a majority of Wedgefield residents support the change.
A poll conducted previously showed only one in six Pluris customers supported the acquisition.
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“I think the last time, it wasn’t explained well enough... The alternative is Pluris keeps running the price up to the point that it becomes the largest cost to owning a home out here,” said Nehr.
The county said purchase costs for the Pluris facility would ultimately be passed to Wedgefield residents through an extra fee in the form of a Municipal Service Benefit Unit.
A community meeting to update residents will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the Wedgefield School Cafeteria.
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