Deltona may buy county water system

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Dec 15, 2008 - 7:13:22am

County and Deltona officials are working on a deal to transfer ownership of a county water and sewer system to Deltona.

The system, called Deltona North Utilities, serves the northern edge of Deltona and some unincorporated areas.

Deltona spokesman Lee Lopez said the county has estimated the system's value at between $15 million and $40 million.

"We are waiting for the county to come back and give us an actual price for the system," said Deltona municipal spokesman Lee Lopez.

County officials may decide on a price on the system within the next few days, according to Gloria Marwick, the county's director of utilities.

"We're doing a cost analysis. I don't have numbers yet," said Marwick.

The county has contracted with a Maitland consultant, PRMG, to help determine what the Deltona North utilities are worth.

The Deltona North water and sewer systems serve approximately 2,800 residential and commercial customers in the northernmost portion of Deltona, notably the areas along Howland Boulevard near Deltona High School, as well as Cassadaga and part of the Southwest Activity Center. The utilities also serve Enterprise and Stone Island.

Deltona already has a municipal utility system, which it bought from a private company in 2003 for $81.7 million. The city has about 29,000 "water-only" customers and about 6,000 sewer customers.

Both the County Council and Deltona City Commission would have to approve of the change of ownership of the Deltona North systems.

If the city buys the Deltona North utilities, it would probably have to issue more bonds, which would be repaid with the billings of the new customers added to the Deltona's municipal systems.

"We want to make sure the revenues that will come from Deltona North will pay for the bonds," Lopez said.

If the city buys the system, Lopez said Deltona North customers will see no immediate changes in their water bills.

The Deltona City Commission recently increased the city's water and sewer rates by 17 percent, increasing an average water-only customer's monthly bill from $19.27 to $22.59 for 10,000 gallons of water.

Information on Volusia County's Web site indicates a household customer of the Deltona North utilities would pay $45.30 per month for 10,000 gallons of water.

Lopez said if Deltona buys the county system, city officials would like to make the rates more uniform over time.

The city's move to buy a county-owned utility comes almost two decades after Volusia County attempted a hostile takeover of the then-privately owned water and sewer systems in Deltona, before the city was incorporated.

In late 1989, the county backed away from using eminent domain to buy the systems, then owned by Southern States Utilities, after company executives and attorneys warned the condemnation would be much more costly than the county had anticipated.

Large numbers of Deltona residents opposed the county's attempted acquisition, because of fears of big increases in water and sewer rates under county ownership. Deltona has long enjoyed some of the lowest water bills in Volusia County.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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