FELLSMERE — The Fellsmere City Council Thursday evening indicated they would be willing to consider backing the City of Vero Beach in its quest to have state laws changed to allow for hybrid septic systems.
Vero Beach is considering a system that would allow homeowners currently using septic systems to tie into the city’s sewer system. The liquid that would otherwise move from the septic tank to the drainfield and eventually leach into the water supply – and the Indian River Lagoon – would, instead, be piped into the sewer system and funneled to a waste water treatment facility.
The solids in the septic tanks would still remain and be pumped as needed on a regular maintenance program.
As the law stands now in Tallahassee, homeowners can have a septic tank or be on sewer – not both, as the City of Vero Beach is proposing.
Vero Beach’s Director of Water and Sewer Rob Bolton approached the Fellsmere City Council asking them to lend their support in having that law change. He is pitching the idea that residents could have both septic and sewer, which would allow for emergency handling of water waste as well as be a less expensive proposition for homeowners.
Bolton told the Council that it can cost an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 to convert from septic to sewer. By comparison, the hybrid system would cost Vero Beach homeowners $7,260, not including a potential impact fee of $2,290 – bringing the total to an estimated $9,550.
“This is a very feasible option,” Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker said after hearing Bolton’s presentation, adding that the State could, in the future, require more to be down to cut down on waste water by making sewer connections mandatory.
Bolton and the Council discussed the possibility of the impact fee being forgiven for a set period of time as an inducement to get homes converted to a hybrid system. Waiving impact fees would be a decision to be made by the Indian River County Board of Commissioners.
“This is something we might look at in the future,” Mayor Susan Adams said, addressing a member of the audience who questioned what Fellsmere’s role would be in this. Adams said this kind of system can’t happen unless the State changes the rules.
There are a total of 30,467 septic tanks throughout Indian River County. In Fellsmere, there are a little over 1,000 septic tanks, accounting for 3.5 percent of the county’s tanks.
The Fellsmere City Council agreed to bring a proposed resolution of support back for discussion and possible approval. That could come at the next Council meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, at Fellsmere City Hall.
