ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — WFTV has reported on how utilities waste or lose water through leaks or theft, but this time WFTV found OUC pumping millions of gallons of treated water right down the drain.
The problem centers around a community called Eagle Creek, just south of Lake Nona, and a decision the county made years ago.
Utilities restrict outdoor watering and urge you to conserve, but WFTV discovered OUC is pumping around 200,000 gallons of drinking water into retention ponds every day!
"I don't like paying for waste," Orange County resident Margie Matonise said. "Somebody with power needs to investigate this and straighten this out."
For the past seven years, OUC has been flushing pipes to maintain water quality for up to 3,000 homes near Lake Hart. There's just one problem; the developer never built most of the homes so water flows through miles of unused pipes and then goes to waste.
That's 76 million gallons of drinkable water a year wasted. At one point, the utility let out enough water to fill a bath-tub every five and a half seconds and a backyard pool every 38 minutes.
OUC is operating within its permits, so it isn't criminal, but critics say that's not the point.
"And you can bet the utilities are not eating that cost. It's being passed onto people already paying a water bill," water conservationist Steve Barnes said.
The utility is losing what would have been at least $100,000 worth of billable water each year.
The problem goes back to 2001, when Orange County approved the Eagle Creek subdivision. After the construction bust, the developer only built 700 of the 3,000 planned homes, but OUC had already installed the pipes.
"It's important to take a tough stance on this," Barnes said.
Barnes says OUC doesn't have to flush the pipes to clean them. He says the utility could recalculate water or add more chlorine instead.
"OUC has said that's too expensive, but this water is being paid for by utility customers. It's paid for by taxpayers," Barnes said.
So far, more than 500 million gallons of water have gone to waste.
The county did not hold the developer responsible for maintaining pipes around the undeveloped properties, so OUC continues to flush pipes to protect the investment and maintain water quality.
OUC declined an on-camera interview. The developer, Emerson International, did not return phone calls.
WFTV spoke with Commissioner Linda Stewart who covers the area. She said it's a horrible waste, that she would check into it.
WFTV
