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Customers grow irate over water shutdowns

Lindrick Services Corp. shuts off water service for the second day in a row and urges residents to boil water.

By PHIL DAVIS
Published July 1, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - For the second day in a row, Lindrick Services Corp. shut off water services to thousands of homes and condominiums along the Gulf of Mexico.

Customers boiled. Literally and figuratively.

"We are down again without water in this area," Sea Forest resident Robin Blinder said at 2 p.m. Thursday. "I know most of the people over here have just about had it with Lindrick and, of course, the phones over there are constantly busy. With them, it just seems like the problems are constant. They are the worst utility I've ever seen."

Thursday's water outage lasted only 90 minutes. A more serious problem on Wednesday shut down the small utility's entire 2,700-household service area for about nine hours.

The utility estimates about 9,000 people in Gulf Harbors, Sea Forest and other neighboring condominium communities will remain under a boil-water notice until at least Saturday afternoon. After a loss of pressure, water must pass two consecutive bacteriological tests before the boil-water advisory can be lifted. It takes 24 hours to get test results.

Meanwhile, residents in the affected areas should bring water to a rolling boil for at least three minutes before drinking it or using it to wash dishes.

Dr. Marc Yacht, medical director of the Pasco County Public Health Department, said the chances of harmful bacteria slipping through the pipes are slim. But he said ignoring the warning could lead to serious stomach upset.

"The best advice is just respect the water notices until you get the all clear," he said. "Why put yourself at risk?"

Many residents relied on past experience and began boiling their water on Wednesday night because they hadn't heard instructions from the utility. Lindrick's phone lines were busy much of the day Wednesday and Thursday. The utility did issue a boil-water advisory more than six hours after the malfunction Wednesday at 10 a.m., but it didn't reach many residents or make it into newspapers.

"We just don't know where to call," said Carol Heggen, a Lindrick customer who moved into a condominium at Holiday Harbors last month. "We don't want to get sick. The least they could do is let us know or have a number to call to find out what to do."

Utility owner Joe Borda on Thursday apologized for the trouble. He said a subcontractor unexpectedly started work on a new line on Wednesday. A valve that was supposed to isolate part of the system malfunctioned.

"We were caught by surprise when it literally turned off our entire network," Borda told the St. Petersburg Times . "So it was just an unfortunate situation we did not anticipate."

Florida Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Pamela Vazquez said the system was shut down again Thursday to repair a leak discovered by her agency's field inspectors.

"We're still investigating what started this whole situation (Wednesday)," Vazquez said, adding the agency will look into customer complaints that Lindrick is unresponsive. "There should be a system in place so that their customers can get in touch with them. They shouldn't have to call around."

Many customers called state and local agencies and elected officials to complain when they couldn't get through to Lindrick.

"They're calling every darn legislator in the area," Yacht said. "They have every right to be angry. I tend to be neutral on these issues, but I can tell you if they are doing work on a system and there's a shutdown, it shouldn't be a surprise.

"This communication issue is one that has become very troublesome and it really shows a lack of consideration for users," Yacht said. "It's a very real problem."

--Phil Davis can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is pdavis@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 1, 2005, 12:22:53]