An official in The Villages has praised the “exceptional drinking water” in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown, despite a growing number of residents complaining about filthy filters at their homes.
Assistant District Manager Bruce Brown penned a lengthy piece published in Thursday’s edition of The Villages Daily Sun in which he described how water is pumped from the Florida aquifer and arrives in homes in The Villages.
“In The Villages, exceptional water quality is not just achieved – it is verified, reported and trusted year after year,” Brown wrote in the story published on page A9 of the Developer’s newspaper.
There was no explanation or context provided as to why the Brown’s piece was published this week, but it likely in response to the rising tide of complaints about the taste and quality of the water in The Villages. This past week, Joseph DeMayo of the Cottages at Summerchase took his prematurely filthy home water filter to a government meeting at Savannah Center, to sound the alarm. DeMayo worked for decades in water treatment at a public facility in Rhode Island, before retiring to The Villages.
Joan Garvar of the Village of Polo Ridge said she filters and distills her water. She collected sediment that remained behind and sent a photo to Villages-News.com.
“The last few months there has been disgusting water coming through our pipes. We have a whole house filtering system and still, metal-looking small grey particles are coming through our faucets. I distill my filtered water and what is left is disgusting,” she said. “People are drinking this, using it for cooking, giving it to our pets, showering in this. Someone needs to check out what is really happening and not give us answers that don’t even make sense.”
Wendy Cadwell of the Village of Lake Deaton is one of many Villagers reporting a sudden increase in the need to change the filters in her system.
“I have a water filter system that was installed by Mike Scott Plumbing and I have noticed a huge change in the amount of times that I have to change my filters as they are turning brown very quickly,” she said.
Bette Ann Tirotti contends there is a big difference in water quality between her home in The Villages and her home up north.
“I always buy a jug of water when I’m at my home in Country Club Hills. I just figure there is a lot of lime in the water. It tastes thick to me. When I get back to New Jersey, the first thing I do is to get a large drink of water right out of my faucet,” she said.
Tell us about the quality of your water at [email protected].