YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Inside the Brookhaven Mobile Home Community on Druck Valley Road in Springettsbury Township, work related to a public water project continues.
The mobile home park’s current water supply source is contaminated and does not meet drinkable standards.
To fix that, the York Water Company is extending its public water main system to connect the park with its filter plant on Grantley Road in Spring Garden Township.
The extension goes down Druck Valley Road and is raising concerns among people living on the street.
“It’s a lot of money that no one was expecting to have to spend," said Nicholas DeSeta. "We weren’t given any heads up about it at all.”
DeSeta and his wife have lived on Druck Valley Road for eight years, and like others on the street, have a well.
“We’re happy with our wells," he said. "We’ve had them all these years. We’ve spent a lot of money over the years to maintain them.”
When the water main extension project started in the spring, the DeSetas and other Druck Valley Road residents received a letter from the York Water Company saying it was optional to hook up to the public water system.
Now they are being told it’s mandatory.
“We’re told we have to pay first a $1,475 hookup fee," explained DeSeta.
On top of that, they’re also on the hook for the cost of permits and other work needed to make the connection.
“We have to dig a four-foot deep trench, run copper pipe, so it’s going to be very expensive," said DeSeta. "Fortunately, my house isn’t too far from the road but my mom’s house is 80 feet…it’s going to cost several thousand dollars.”
It’s a price Victoria Stine, a nearly 40-year resident of Druck Valley Road, cannot afford.
“I’m 75, I only get $800 social security, I think that says about everything," she said. "I’ve fought for this house through bankruptcy, divorce and now this comes.”
In explaining the reason behind the requirement, the township cites a 1985 ordinance that requires properties in the Mount Zion Water District which are 150 feet or closer to the road to connect to public water.
The ordinance states in part:
"All persons owning any building now erected within the Mt. Zion Water District occupied or intended for human habitation and accessible to the public water system and all persons hereafter erecting any new building within said district intended for human habitation and accessible to the public water system shall, at their own expense, make connection of such buildings to the public water system. A building shall be deemed "accessible" to the public water system when any part of it shall be located within 150 feet of any public street or easement in which is laid a public water main."
“We’re being forced to do it and if you look at the ordinance, the penalty if we don’t comply with this is a $1,000 fine and/or up to 90 days in jail which I think is crazy," said DeSeta.
Per the ordinance, residents have six months to comply, though the township says it is reviewing that matter.
The York Water Company tells FOX43 the ordinance is based on a loan agreement between it and the township. The company says the initial letter, which went out as a survey back in May, was sent in error.
A full statement sent to FOX43 said:
"This letter was a mistake by The York Water Company. The agreement in question was executed in 1985, and since then, our finance department manages the payments from the Township and tracks the loan balance. The persons issuing that letter were not aware of the 1985 agreement nor the ordinance, and the letter was sent in error. We have since corrected that error in writing to the prior recipients. Also, as result, we have enhanced our internal protocols to ensure that such communications reflect current local ordinances accurately."
A corrected letter from the Water Company was not sent until August 30, and a subsequent notice from Springettsbury Township came on September 4.
When asked why residents were not notified sooner, Springettsbury Township manager, Mark Hodgkinson, told FOX43, "The potable water system in this area is owned and operated by YWC. In late August, YWC met with the township to advise that the new water main extension was nearing completion, therefore, soon ready for connections. On September 4th, I sent a letter to the parcels we believed to have an occupied dwelling within 150’ of Druck Valley Road."
“We didn’t want this, we didn’t need it, so why are we having to pay for it?" asked DeSeta.
“There’s nothing wrong with my well," added Stine. "I didn’t contaminate the water at the trailer park.”
Meanwhile, neighbors are hoping a better, and less expensive, solution can be found.
“They should go ahead and run the water lines in front of each person’s house, put the curb stop there," said DeSeta. "We’ll pay the $1,475 hookup fee. They can get their money, but then it should be optional if we actually want to hook up.”
According to the York Water Company, the water main extension will provide residents along Druck Valley Road with fire hydrants "for property and public safety protection for their homes and businesses."
The York Water Company says the project is expected to be completed before the end of October.