Plantation Bay residents press Flagler County on recurring water quality problems

Plantation Bay residents told the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 4 that long-running water-quality problems are harming confidence in the system and require faster action and outside oversight.

"It's been over 5 years since the county took over and yet we don't feel that there's been a great deal of progress," resident Lisa Hill said, urging the commission to "work together to reach solutions that address our immediate needs as well as our long term needs." Several other residents described discolored tap water, toilet and sink staining, and worries about potential health effects.

Speakers repeatedly referenced a pending set of bids for a reverse-osmosis (RO) system. Public works director and county engineer Faith Alkati told the board the RO solicitation returned a low/only bidder figure of $6,100,000 and was "under review," while several residents said they had seen bids they considered high and questioned whether bidders had toured the plant.

Resident Jane Jens Hillhude said she received a bill notice advising customers on dialysis to contact their physicians because of an upcoming temporary change in disinfection, and she quoted a county staffer to question whether RO bidders had visited the plant: "How do you award $6,000,000 to someone who doesn't have [a] even seeing what they're going to do?" Her concern echoed other callers who urged the county to show procurement transparency and offer more notice to vulnerable customers.

Faith Alkati and General Services Director Heidi Petito described past technical steps and short-term measures. Alkati said engineering advertised the RO system and that the county is "planning to bring it to your attention to be awarded sometime soon" and that the budget manager was pursuing a loan to fund the work. Petito said the county had performed jar tests and temporary disinfection and that recommendations and interim results were shared with the engineering firm McKim and Creed.

Residents asked for independent verification and a clear plan with timeline and funding sources. Bruce Bandes, vice president of Plantation Bay HOA, asked whether a disinterested third-party consultant had been engaged to identify the exact cause and optimal remedy, and new resident Kevin Swagger urged the board to "identify what the problem is, identify how the problem can be fixed, what the time period is going to be to fix that, and then we move forward with that."

Chair and staff offered next steps: the chair said he and other commissioners have toured the Plantation Bay plant at different times and that the county will consider a workshop. Faith Alkati recommended a workshop to review Plantation Bay utility issues with documented history and consultant reports. Petito encouraged commissioners to visit the plant for a briefing.

The public comment and staff briefing did not produce a final procurement decision at the meeting; commissioners left the RO bid under review and agreed to pursue further briefings and a workshop to review technical documentation and funding options.