The truth about the City’s water system

COMMENTARY

MARK SCHUMANN

A $11 million dollar deep injection well built in 2011 enables the city to operate its water and sewer utility without discharging treated water or brine water into the Lagoon or canals. — A $11 million dollar deep injection well built in 2011 enables the city to operate its water and sewer utility without discharging treated water or brine water into the Lagoon or canals, as the County is now doing.

This week, Vero Beach 32963 reporter Lisa Zahner concluded a story on the City’s water system with editorial commentary strongly suggesting the City should “take another look at merging with the more modern county system.”

For the moment, set aside the remainder of the story, which included a number of inaccuracies and omissions of important facts. The single sentence cited above contains one misstatement and an assertion that is questionable, at best. First, the County’s proposal has never been to “merge” the system, as Zahner suggested. Second, considering the City’s use of a deep-injection well, the County’s system is not more modern that the City’s – not even close.

This kind of reporting is not responsible journalism. Rather, it is anti-City propaganda.

The island weekly might do well to compare the number of boil-water notices issued by the County, as compared to the City. Further, the claim that the County’s rates are lower is off the mark.

The island weekly’s report could have made clearer the fact that the $3 million investment in question will be made over 20 years. It is also worth noting that, though the City’s system and the County’s system are revenue neutral, the City is able to generate 40 percent operating income.

For a fuller, more balanced report on the City’s water and sewer system see the following stories posted earlier on InsideVero.com:

No financial benefit to city in merging water and sewer systems

City’s water and sewer utility a vital asset

County’s attempt to take on south barrier island water and sewer service defies logic

3 comments

32963 never stops trying to divert the subject away from Tracy Carroll and her failed public record. They can’t write about Short Term Rentals or Public land give aways or Religious Bigotry or her berating of our police and city workers ,so they try to start a controversy in another area. Oh , I forgot TRACY CARROLL just voted to raise electric rates on all of us. They won’t write about that either will they.

Zahner must have worked for the Enquirer at one time. The rag she writes for sure reads like it. The sad part is the beach crowd believes what they write.
There has to be a better way to keep informend.