Homeowners may get help with sewer costs

Crystal River and Citrus County will seek a federal grant to help reduce costs to hook up homes in Indian Waters.

By JOSH ZIMMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 8, 2000

CRYSTAL RIVER -- Dusting off a 1997 interlocal agreement during their joint meeting Tuesday, the Crystal River City Council and the County Commission voted to pursue a federal grant that would help them link more than 200 Indian Waters homes to city sewers.

The subdivision already relies on city water. But high estimated costs for connecting the neighborhood to city sewers have placed the project on the back burner.

Although the estimated cost per household remains high -- as much as $8,500, according to figures presented by county engineers -- the price tag would drop several thousand dollars if the governments can join forces and secure a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. If Crystal River and the county received the maximum amount, the per-household assessment would drop to $5,356, engineers said.

The payments would be stretched out over several years.

While he and his neighbors want to help the environment, Indian Waters homeowner John Foley said he would welcome any assistance in easing the financial burden of connecting to the sewer system.

If all goes as hoped, the county would build the project and collect special assessments; the city would collect user fees.

"I'm not opposed to cleaning up the river," Foley said Wednesday. "I think they're looking at a pretty steep price. Hopefully, they can get some grant money . . . to help defer some of that cost."

The governments are conducting a study that will collect information necessary to apply for the rural development grant, including preliminary engineering, environmental and financial assessments and the creation of proper ordinances.

The report should be completed by August, said Ken Frink, the county's assistant public works director. Final word from the USDA should come by November.

"We're interested in getting the cost down a much as possible, like we did in Homosassa," Frink said.

In Homosassa, the county significantly reduced the estimated household connection cost by obtaining more than $2-million in state grants. People living around the initial line, which extends from the county's Meadowcrest Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Riverhaven treatment plant off West Halls River Road, will be paying several thousand dollars to hook up.

The same issue is being dealt with in Chassahowitzka, where engineering work is under way after the state awarded the county $1-million to help solve pollution problems in the area.

Under the county's ordinance, homeowners have 365 days to connect to central sewers when the service is available.

Installing central sewers in environmentally sensitive areas, such as the west side of U.S. 19, is a linchpin to meeting the county's water quality goals, County Commissioner Brad Thorpe said after Tuesday's meeting. He credited the city for reviving the interlocal agreement.

"The county, after doing some of these projects, is feeling more comfortable," Thorpe said. "We're starting to build a bit of a track record in getting money for these projects."

Despite confidence in central sewer projects, the project would proceed before officials knew whether septic tanks in Indian Waters are actually polluting local waters, Frink said. Neither the tanks nor the surrounding waters will be analyzed in the study.

"They fail eventually. That's the problem," he said.

Foley, an engineer who worries about how some of his older neighbors will afford the assessment and connection fees, said he would prefer to see the project financed through property taxes and impact fees.

The proposal leaves him feeling both resigned and somewhat frustrated. The county, which permits septic tanks, is a big part of the problem, he said.

"I have a perfectly good working septic system right now," Foley said. "There are thousands more septic tanks in the county. If they really want to do something, stop putting them in . . . all over."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.