TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Suncoast Pasco News

Aloha Utilities waits for treatment report

ADVERTISEMENT

By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: September 24, 2007

New Port Richey, FL - New Port Richey, FL - A rough draft of a consultant's reports could arrive this week, paving the way for Aloha Utilities to plan for its much anticipated drinking-water treatment system.

The project has been on hold until recommendations are made by Audrey Levine, the former University of South Florida engineering professor consulting on the best way to design the treatment system.

In a settlement with state regulators, Aloha intends to spend an estimated $6.13 million on the anion-exchange system to clean up its water supplies.

Many residents in Aloha's Seven Springs territory had complained for about a decade about black water and odor problems in the water.

Levine, however, who left USF to become national program director for drinking water for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, has been trying to finish the report while starting her new duties.

"It's taken a lot more time than she has anticipated," Stephen G. Watford, president of Aloha, said, referring to Levine.

"Her report is integral because it will be part of the permitting process" reviewed by state environmental regulators, Watford said.

Also, the Levine report will give Aloha executives a better idea of the actual construction costs, Watford figures. The current estimate, $6.13 million, was made a few years ago.

Watford doesn't believe Aloha will be fined by state regulators for the project delays. He wasn't sure when Levine's final version of the reports will arrive.

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has complained Aloha should have made contingency plans after Levine notified the company in December 2006 about her job change. Fasano, an Aloha customer, is a longtime critic of the utility.

That was a "red flag" for Aloha executives, according to Greg Giordano, Fasano's chief legislative aide.

Levine agreed to continue working on the Aloha reports, but she missed April and May deadlines for a preliminary draft of the report, Giordano noted.

Florida Public Service Commission officials advised Aloha to make contingency plans with another expert in case Levine has to be replaced, Giordano said. He participated in a phone conference call last week regarding the delayed Levine reports.

"It's really a mess and a mess I think could have been avoided," Giordano commented.

State utility regulators are reviewing a possible penalty, Giordano reported. Fasano has said repeatedly the only way to get Aloha executives to act is to threaten to fine them, the legislative aide said.

Previously, the new treatment system was supposed to be "up and running" by early 2009, Giordano said.

Given Levine's failure to deliver the report so far, "What that timetable is going to be now is anybody's guess," Giordano remarked. There would be at least a two-month delay even if Levine were to deliver her final report by the end of September, he estimated.

Another conference call is scheduled for Sept. 26, Giordano said.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT