Orange County will explore the possible purchase of a private utility, though the county’s hired consultant doesn’t think it’s a good buy.
Residents of Wedgefield, frustrated for more than a decade with what they describe as the high cost and low quality of their water, were buoyed by the county’s decision to direct utilities staff and Hartman Consultants to approach Pluris Wedgefield Utilities about selling the small water and wastewater system, which has 1,672 customers.
“That’s what we want,” said Mike Boston, a 10-year Wedgefield resident. “We have no other option left.”
Like many Pluris customers, Boston said he tries to avoid drinking the tap water and buys bottled water to drink.
Mike Nolan, president of the Wedgefield Homeowners Association, said other residents don’t wash their cars or water their lawns because of Pluris’ high service rates and some are wary about washing their clothes at home because they blame chlorine residue in the system’s water lines for occasionally bleaching and ruining entire loads of laundry.
Studies show the Dallas-based private utility pipes the most expensive water in Orange County. The utility charges 147% what the county charges for water.
For instance, a Pluris customer pays $132.60 a month to use 5,000 gallons of water and wastewater service.
By contrast, customers of Orange County Utilities pay $53.69 a month for the same amount of water and wastewater service.
But a buy-out of Pluris could cost nearly $25 million, according to the consulting team, which was paid $53,000 to conduct an analysis of the utility.
Wedgefield is the only community Pluris’ serves.
“The acquisition is not feasible, in my opinion, at Orange County rates if the system is to be funded separately by this small customer base with relatively low growth,” consultant Gerald Hartman wrote in his analysis.
Residents would have to agree to tax themselves to defray costs, including expenses to upgrade Pluris’ system.
There’s another likely sticking point: the utility isn’t officially for sale, Pluris Holdings regional manager Joseph M. Kuhns said in an email.
In his note, Kuhns also defended Pluris’ product, saying the water is treated with a state-of-the-art chlorine dioxide system and “meets all water quality standards.”
Located on State Road 520 about six miles from the county’s urban-service area, Wedgefield was known as “Rocket City” when it was developed in 1962 at the height of the boom at the Kennedy Space Center.
The 20,000-acre development was envisioned as housing employees for the space industry.
But the boom went bust when former President Lyndon Johnson moved the space industry to Houston.
Pluris has been around since 2006, according to its website.
It took over Wedgefield Utilities in 2009 as Pluris Holdings then became Pluris Wedgefield last year.
The company owns six utilities in three states, including Wedgefield and Pluris Southgate in Sarasota.
Water and wastewater services in Wedgefield have always been privately owned and not part of the county’s system, one of the largest in the nation, said Tim Armstrong, assistant director of Orange County Utilities.
He said Wedgefield Pluris’ customers often complain about the high cost, low quality and poor “aesthetics” of the water running from their faucets. They also say the utility has a notoriously poor customer service record, and the Florida Public Service Commission, which oversees the utility’s pricing structure, has ignored their pleas to keep rates down.
“It’s a tough situation for the residents in that area,” Armstrong said.
In a presentation to commissioners, he said buying the utility and upgrading the system would likely be expensive.
“From a purely business standpoint, the acquisition is not recommended,” he said.
Armstrong also pointed out the closest connection to Orange County Utilities is six miles from Wedgefield.
Commissioner Mayra Uribe said the county nonetheless should explore options for Wedgefield.
“I don’t think we look at this as a business purchase, we look at it as a community in need and how do we help them,” she said.
Boston said better water and more responsive customer service would be worth the cost to him.
Nolan said the community hopes to win federal and state grants to offset the purchase price.
shudak@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6361