VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The Volusia County Council on Tuesday voted to reject putting the controversial toilet-to-tap water proposal before voters.
The 4-3 vote means the plan will not be on the ballot in August.
The county has no current plans to implement the technology, a water-recycling method promoted statewide to address drinking-water shortages caused by new development and population growth.
One version would pump highly-treated sewage water back into the aquifer.
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A petition circulating in Volusia County calls to ban the method, with residents saying they are concerned about the safety of turning treated sewage into drinking water or pumping it into the county’s aquifers.
“How many letters would you write or how many meetings would you go to once it was already there to scream to get it out? We got to go right now,” said Greg Gimbert, a Daytona Beach resident who started the petition.
Gimbert refuses to let his family drink treated sewage water, saying it’s too risky to trust that it’s safe. He pushed the council to put the measure on the ballot, but the county voted against that.
“It’s the only enforceable means to adjust the scope and power that we land our elected officials in. Left to their own devices, they’re like drunken frat boys, driving all over the road, and they’re getting ready to crash us into the sewage plant, and I don’t want to drink it,” he said.
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County Council Chair Jeff Brower shares concerns about toilet-to-tap, calling it a dangerous solution some Florida cities are turning to.
“It shouldn’t be allowed to happen. Development needs to keep up with what the land can sustain,” Brower said.
Volusia is not alone in considering toilet-to-tap. Tampa and Polk County are investing in projects to turn wastewater into drinking water. In Central Florida, Altamonte Springs is already using treated sewage water for irrigation, but not for drinking.
A few years ago, Daytona Beach attempted to start a toilet-to-tap program but shut it down after resident pushback.