Indian River Shores appealing dismissal of lawsuit against Vero Beach reclaimed water bills

INDIAN RIVER SHORES — The town will appeal a recent court decision dismissing its lawsuit against Vero Beach over how much the city charges for reclaimed water, the Town Council decided.

The Town Council Thursday voted unanimously to give Town Manager Jim Harpring the authority to take all appropriate action to seek relief from the adverse judgment.

The appeal must be filed no later than 15 days from the May 19 ruling issued by Indian River County Circuit Court Judge Janet Croom.

The town was disappointed in the court’s ruling and believes it is erroneous on both the facts and the law, Mayor Brian Foley said.

“We’ve got some clearly tight timeframes to file motions to get relief from that judgment,” Foley said. “Either we accept the court’s dismissal of the rate case, or we have our attorneys do the appropriate things to overturn them.”

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Indian River Shores sued Vero Beach in 2020 over the cost of reclaimed water, claiming the city charged more than Indian River County did for its recycled water. That violated a 2012 agreement that Vero Beach would charge the same rates for reclaimed water as the county, town officials claimed in the lawsuit.

Vero Beach charges customers 67 cents per 1,000 gallons of reclaimed water used for irrigation. In 2019, Indian River County changed its rates to 21 cents per 1,000 gallons — 46 cents less.

Indian River Shores wanted the court to force Vero Beach to match the county rates.

But doing so would make other Vero Beach water customers subsidize Indian River Shores residents, and the city would lose money, Croom ruled.

Services provided by Indian River County and Vero Beach are different, so costs cannot unable be compared, Croom said in the ruling. Indian River County offers customers non-pressurized reclaimed water, while Vero Beach's customers receive pressurized reclaimed water, she said.

Indian River Shores also has filed a federal lawsuit against Vero Beach, claiming the city violates federal antitrust laws. The town is asking a federal judge to nullify a 1989 agreement outlining water-service boundaries between Vero Beach and Indian River County. The agreement, the lawsuit claims, prohibits Indian River Shores from shopping around for a water provider. That federal case is still pending.

Janet Begley is a local freelance writer for TCPalm.com. If you like articles like this and other TCPalm coverage of Treasure Coast news, please support our journalism and subscribe now.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Indian River Shores to appeal dismissal of lawsuit against Vero Beach