IN HOT WATER

Residents raise concerns with Nittany Water Co.

By LIZ PURSEL — For The Express
LAMAR — So what are the problems?

That’s what many of the more than 60 residents of Porter and Walker townships who attended a meeting here Monday night asked officials of the privately owned Nittany Water Co.

The answers are pending.

Among the questions are:

— “What exactly are the problems with the system?”

— “When I pay my water bill, what am I paying for?”

— “Why is there little to no notification when the water goes out?”

Though Nittany Water President and co-owner Larry Rider attended last night’s meeting, he remained silent while listening to residents for the entire hour and a half, waiting until most of the crowd was already disbursed to speak with The Express.

Rider and Harry Barner own the water company. Barner, who was also at the meeting, serves as secretary.

Rider said there had been no water line breaks for two years, but then “all of the sudden, you have a break every other day.”

“We made every effort possible to fix pipes,” he insisted.

But that’s not been a comfort to many residents of Lamar. According to many who attended at last night’s meeting, there has been intermittent water service for two weeks, with service sometimes being off for days at a time.

Juanita Lose, of Porter Township, said in a two-week period, her family went seven days without water, with the longest continuous service disruption lasting three days.

“I have been showering either at work or at my mom’s,” said Lose. “I wait until I have water to do my laundry.”

Lose said she had to buy bottled water to drink, and her 17-year-old son has been staying with a friend more than at home since the water problems began.

Another Porter resident, Mark Hoy, laughed and said, “The water system here is like expecting a newborn baby. You have your suitcases packed and by the door because you never know when you’ll have to leave.”

Resident Cathy Frazier said last week was the worst, with water coming on only hours at a time and with little notice.

“We just have to keep turning the faucet on to see if it’s there,” she said.

Frazier said Nittany Water placed a water tank and pump station at the Nittany Valley Fire Hall last Thursday, but there were no announcements to residents that it was there. She said the most notification she received was a recording on the water company’s answering machine that the water buffalo was available.

Frazier said she also is fed up with the costs associated with all of the water problems. She said her water bill is $37 a month, plus a fee based on the number of gallons used. But if there is no water to draw, Frazier asked, “what am I paying for?”

In addition to the water bill, residents have had to use money for gas to either get water from the tank provided by the company, go to the store to buy bottled water or go to the Laundromat. And to get water from the tank, residents had to provide their own containers.

The situation has been difficult for businesses, as well.

Joyce Spring, a manager at Lamar Dairy Queen, said her business has slowed because of the problems.

“The Moolattes are being advertised right now because of the season,” she said, “but we can’t make them for people because we need the water to do so.”

Luckily, the Dairy Queen has an extra water supply to wash dishes and for restrooms, so it has not had to close due to lack of water. But if that supply becomes depleted and water is not restored, the store may have to temporarily close, Spring said.

“It’s just been stressful for everyone to work without water,” Spring said, “especially trying to close up. There are a lot of things you can’t do without it.”

Rider later alleged the residents are “lying” and there has been water service for most of the time. He said there also has been adequate advisories to boil water, all of the water is tested and approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

He said notification is not necessary when smaller breaks occur, since they only take three to four hours to repair. And when the company had a bad break last week, the water tank was placed immediately for the residents’ use.

Barner said with the water now back on, residents shouldn’t need the tank.

Bob O’Connor, Porter Township solicitor, said he sympathizes with the residents’ complaints, and the situation calls for unity and legal help from the Public Utility Commission.

Since Nittany Water is a privately-owned company, it does not fall under the local court’s jurisdiction, but the jurisdiction of the PUC. Because of that, the townships cannot use the local courts to force Nittany Water to fix pipes and provide clean drinking water, O’Connor said.

O’Connor said that, by filing petitions and multiple residential complaint forms to the PUC, the township can then gain specialized legal counsel to get Nittany Water to do something about the broken and deteriorating pipes.

“With more people joining,” he said, “there is more pressure to bear. Enough is enough.”

One concern O’Connor has is cost, with specialized legal counsel expensive. Also, one possibility of filing formal complaints with the PUC could be the public acquiring the water company, if the PUC sees fit. That means the privately-owned company would become public property and part of the township’s infrastructure, but it would have to be paid for. And, whether the company stays private or not, the cost of replacing pipes will not be cheap, he said.

Rider said the township tried to buy the water company about 15 years ago, but didn’t have enough money to do so.

“They want to buy the water company,” he said. “Tell them to bring their checkbooks.”

O’Connor said by sticking together, buying the company may be a possibility. He asked the public to complete forms and mail them to Walker and Porter townships no later than June 2, when regular meetings are scheduled for Porter Township.

Forms are available at the Porter Township building, and many residents took extra copies to distribute to neighbors last night.

Completed forms should be sent to supervisors of your township of residence.