Important Notice To Pluris Wedgefield Customers

Late on the evening of August 21, 2026, a severe lightning strike caused damage to the water treatment facility, to include computers, SCADA, PLC’s, and communication equipment resulting in low water pressure for customers for approximately three hours. The SCADA system is purposely designed and programmed for an extreme event such as this to enter a fail-safe mode. The fail-safe mode ensures continuing operation of critical systems such as pumps and disinfection equipment. At no time did the system pressure drop below the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“FDEP”) requirement of 20 psi. Our field crew immediately implemented emergency procedures and worked diligently to restore water pressure to affected customers as quickly as possible.

In addition, a 4-inch water main break occurred on Majestic Street, resulting in a temporary loss of water service to the 36 connections located along the street. Once the repair was completed, a precautionary Boil Water Advisory was issued, and affected addresses received the precautionary boil water notices by door tags. Our field crew followed established emergency procedures to restore water service and ensure that the appropriate precautionary boil water notices were provided to all affected customers.

Field operations staff were immediately deployed to the water treatment facility and the water main line break. The FDEP was noticed and updated through the events. Field operation staff assessed the lightning strike damages at the water treatment plant as well as repairing the watermain line, which was concluded at approximately 2 AM ET. Per FDEP requirements, bacterial water samples for laboratory testing were obtained and pending results expected later today (Tuesday August 25th) the precautionary boil water notice to the 36 residents should be cleared for the residents. The notice remains in effect until the laboratory provides the results and Pluris notifies the affected residents.

Our Customer Care number, 888-758-7471, is answered after hours by a service that was actively receiving calls throughout the low-pressure event. Due to the high volume of calls received, customers may have experienced a wait time. However, all calls were answered and promptly dispatched to our field crew, and customers were provided with available information regarding the emergency.

Please note that correspondence sent to our Customer Care email address, [email protected], is monitored during regular business hours and will be addressed by our representatives on the next business day.

We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding as our field crews worked diligently to address these incidents and restore water service as quickly and safely as possible.

Pluris Wedgefield, Inc., Working with University of Central Florida and Kimley Horn Engineers to find an Innovative Solution to TTHMs

December 2016

Pluris Wedgefield, Inc. has been conducting a study with the University of Central Florida Environmental Systems Engineering Institute and Kimley Horn Engineers to address recent detection of elevated levels of total trihalomethanes (“TTHM”). TTHM is a disinfectant by-product of chlorine, which is used to insure bacteria is eliminated in drinking water.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2006 established the Stage 2 maximum contaminant level (MCL) for TTHM at 80 micrograms per liter (µ/L) and all utilities have been challenged in meeting the Stage 2 MCL. Furthermore all utilities recognize the EPA plans to further reduce TTHM MCLS with additional stages in the future. It is not known for certain when the EPA will implement the next stages, nor what MCLs will be, but utilities and industry experts contemplate the TTHM MCL for Stage 3 to be in the range of 40 µ/L to 60 µ/L. MCLs for Stage 4 is contemplated to be in the range of 20 µ/L to 40 µ/L.

With the challenge of meeting the current Stage 2 and future MCLs, utilities are seeking treatment technologies to insure ongoing compliance.

Findings from the current Pluris study indicate an innovative treatment using chlorine dioxide over traditionally used liquid chlorine as a disinfection is effective in reducing TTHM formation. Although the EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) have approved the use of chlorine dioxide for disinfection; to insure the efficacy, Pluris is conducting a pilot study using chlorine dioxide for disinfection at Wedgefield. The FDEP issued an approval letter to begin the pilot study on November 29, 2016 and upon startup, the pilot study will take 90 days to complete.

Chlorine dioxide has been approved for use in Florida and one utility includes a Volusa County Utility, Magnolia Village. As part of the current Pluris study, Pluris met with Magnolia Village operators, who made the conversion from liquid chlorine to chlorine dioxide when the utility experienced elevated levels of TTHM in excess of 100 µ/L in their drinking water. Regarding the conversion to chlorine dioxide as the disinfectant, the chief water plant operator, Carlos Tola, stated,

“We are extremely pleased with the effectiveness of chlorine dioxide to provide proper disinfection while allowing us to deliver water that is relatively free of TTHMs”.

In the most recent laboratory analytical testing following conversion to chlorine dioxide, documented TTHM levels in Magnolia Village water were between 10 µ/L and 12 µ/L.

To learn more about chlorine dioxide, readers are encouraged to visit the TwinOxide’s website at http://www.twinoxide.us, or contact Joe Kuhns, Regional Manager for Pluris at [email protected].

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