(This story was updated to add new information and to correct a misspelling/typo.)
Volusia County Council shot down two proposals aimed at preventing blackwater from being recycled into drinking water on Tuesday night, Feb. 17.
Yet Council Chairman Jeff Brower pledged at the end of the meeting that he would keep raising the issue. He urged constituents not to give up.
“I will bring this back with the next new council and the council after that. … Don’t lose hope. Keep fighting, and let’s keep our aquifer clean,” Brower said.
Brower’s seat will be up for election in 2028, but four council seats are up for election this year.
The council voted 4-3 at its Feb. 17 meeting against sending a proposed charter amendment to the ballot in November of 2026. It would have asked voters whether the county should ban the process of recycling treated wastewater into drinking water and injecting that treated wastewater into the aquifer. It would have applied only to the county’s utility service area, not countywide.
The council also voted 4-3 against crafting a county ordinance to put a ban in place soon for the county’s utility service area.
Voting against a charter amendment and ordinance were At-Large Representative Jake Johansson, District 3 Councilman Danny Robins, District 2 Councilman and Vice Chairman Matt Reinhart and District 5 Councilman David Santiago.
The issue arose based on a petition promoted by Volusia County Council Chairman Jeff Brower to prohibit the use of treated wastewater as drinking water. Wastewater is water that’s used, including what people flush down the toilets and wash down their sinks. The proposals focused on blackwater, which “is the part of the domestic waste sewage carried off by toilets, urinals and kitchen drains.”
Councilmen split on Tuesday over whether using recycled wastewater for drinking water, sometimes called toilet-to-tap, is actually a concern for the county.
Volusia County has no plans to implement the technology in the county’s utility service area, according to county officials.
“This is a county solution looking for a county problem,” Santiago said.
Ormond Beach commissioner, others support getting ahead of the issue with a ban
Brower, District 4 Councilman Troy Kent and District 1 Councilman Don Dempsey supported sending a charter amendment to the ballot and crafting an ordinance. Some said they wanted to get ahead of the issue.
“What’s the harm in not only passing the (ordinance), but allowing people to vote on it?” Kent asked.
Johansson said, among other reasons for voting against the proposals, that he didn’t want to restrict future councils on the issue.
“No pun intended, but this idea might be a little more palatable in 40 years. I don’t know,” Johansson said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County Council shoots down toilet-to-tap ban proposals
Reporting by Sheldon Gardner, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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