By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Bronson Town Council members passed a resolution to stop contractors from taking large quantities of city water from fire hydrants without paying for it but stopped short of putting locks on hydrants for added security.
Any person found taking water from a fire hydrant without paying for the water would be committing theft and the city would provide the Levy County Sheriff’s Office with facts on the case for investigation.
Fire Chief Dennis Russell said he was asked about the possibility of placing locks on fire hydrants in an earlier discussion with Town Manager Susan Beaudet, but he thinks locks are a bad idea, especially if firefighters forget the key.
“I’m not a fan of it. Me and Ms. Sue talked about it. My concern is – time is of the essence. When we go to a fire, it’s going to take time to unlock that lock. If they forget the key, they’re going to have to run to where the truck is to get the key, bring it back and unlock it and you’ve wasted a lot of time,” Russell said.
The council didn’t act on the suggestion to purchase locks for fire hydrants. Two council members felt locks could be placed on outlying fire hydrants that aren’t easily seen and are more likely to be hit by water thieves.
Town Attorney Steven Warm brought the issue of water rustling to the attention of Bronson. Warm also serves as attorney for Otter Creek and prepared an identical resolution for the Otter Creek City Commission. The resolution was developed by Warm after an Otter Creek town official caught a construction contractor stealing water from a city fire hydrant.
“When the town clerk went to confront the construction contractor saying you can’t just take our water from us, the contractor said they wouldn’t do it again because they were planning on going back to Bronson to steal water from us,” said Beaudet. “She didn’t know the construction company. Obviously, the people are planning to come here and do the exact same thing that they did in Otter Creek.”
Beaudet said the mayor of Otter Creek was concerned about the contractor stealing water because the fire hydrant didn’t have a backflow preventer and he was fearful of cross-contamination, but Beaudet said he was also concerned about the theft of city water.
Beaudet said when Otter Creek contacted the Levy County Sheriff’s Office about the contractor stealing water, the sheriff’s office informed the city that the State Attorney’s office no longer prosecutes for water theft.
“They don’t care. They’re washing their hands of it,” she said.
Beaudet, who lives in Newberry, said water rustling by contractors is more common than people think. She was a victim of water rustling by a construction contractor who was building homes in her neighborhood.
“I just bought a new house last year. I was the second home in my development and obviously, they were building homes after mine and in the first three months I lived there my water bill was $400 per month because they were taking my water and using it to build the houses after mine, so it happens all the time,” Beaudet said. “They get away with it because people don’t say anything. I just thought the water here is really expensive.”
Warm said the water rustling resolution adopted by the Bronson Town Council puts contractors on notice, or anyone else who wants to take water from Bronson without paying for it, that such an act is theft. He said a contractor may think they can shrug off the resolution, but he doubts that will happen.
“I don’t think they want the hassle,” he said.
One audience member who is familiar with Gainesville city water policies said the city fines anyone who uses water and doesn’t have the correct meter attached to their home or business.
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Town of Bronson Regular Meeting April 18, 2022; Posted April 30, 2022:
