- November 1, 2024
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Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins emailed other county commissioners and the county attorney Jan. 31 expressing concerns about the condition of the wastewater plant at Plantation Bay, and stating that he plans to raise the issue during the upcoming Feb. 4 County Commission meeting.
"There are serious issues with the wastewater plant," Mullins said. "It just can’t continue." He said he'd toured the facility Jan. 29, and included photos in his email to commissioners. A tank holding sewage, he said, looks like it's "about ready to collapse."
"Any day it could go, and it would pollute the water south of us," Mullins said.
Flagler County spokeswoman Julie Murphy said the county knows there are problems at the plant.
"Flagler County is aware that the structural integrity of the existing treatment walls is declining," she wrote in an emailed reply to reporters' questions Feb. 1. "Actions are currently being pursued to provide a temporary solution, however, the existing plant will need to be fully rehabilitated at a later date to best serve operations."
County Commissioner Charlie Ericksen, speaking shortly after reading Mullins' email to commissioners, said he was aware that the plant has had longstanding problems, but questioned whether Mullins had all of the relevant information.
"I can’t say one way or another whether there are legitimate problems that he’s identified," Ericksen said. "I know we’ve put quite a few bucks into [the plant]."
Ericksen, who was first elected to the commission in 2012, is the only current commissioner who was also on the commission when the county acquired full control over the Plantation Bay water utility and wastewater facility in 2015 after buying it jointly with the city of Bunnell in 2013 for $5.5 million. Problems with both the water and wastewater side were known before the purchase, and the county has since been working on various repairs and upgrades.
A January 2019 county document states that fixes underway for the wastewater facility include a "new water quality rejection water holding tank, new Wastewater Treatment Plant master lift station, additional filtration system, fixed standby generator, rehabilitation of existing wastewater treatment plant, upgraded electrical and automation, master plan for future improvements to include an additional clarifier, new chlorine contact chamber."
Mullins said that it was his understanding that those measures do not address all of the issues he saw at the facility. He said he plans to propose that the county pursue state grant money to fund additional work on the plant.
The Feb. 4 County Commission meeting will be held at 9 a.m. in the commission chambers at the Government Services Building at 1769 E. Moody Blvd. in Bunnell.
