Clean water for Keys
The board of directors of the Key Largo Waste Water Treatment District seems to have lost sight of its mandated reason for existing, which is protection of the environment by reducing pollution of near shore waters and treating waste water within their district boundaries.
Instead board members operate as if they must make a profit at all costs. Unfortunately, they can pick and choose what areas they will serve. They have refused to accept responsibilities to connect either Cross Key or homes on State Road 905 to central systems using the excuse that they don’t have the funding to connect these areas within their district.
However, they were given a $17-million grant from the state to fund new projects in the district. These two would have qualified. The board voted, instead, to give the $17 million to Monroe County.
Once again, they are now claiming they don’t have any money. The board has no contingency plan for the future. Otherwise it would realize that the day will come when waste water will have to be treated and recovered for reuse with technology that already exists.
The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority is already drawing water from a brackish second-level aquifer in Florida City to provide us with fresh water. A good part of the $17 million grant should be reserved for this purpose.
Howard Gelbman,
Key Largo
This story was originally published December 13, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Clean water for Keys."