THE HAMMOCK
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 1, NO. 10
MATANZAS ROLLS PAGE 10B
FREE ON NEWSSTANDS | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2025
Renner files to run for governor
Gearing up for Sept. 11
Paul Renner, a Palm Coast resident, was Speaker of the House.
Running water is a ‘breath of fresh air’
PAGE 3A
Beaches get federal, local support Officials lean toward referendum for sales tax PAGE 4A $9 million in FEMA funding to be released PAGE 10A INSIDE CANDIDATE PONTIERI
Palm Coast Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri to run for County Commission District 2 seat PAGE 4A
INDEX
Business..................... PAGE 6B Calendar..................... PAGE 2B Cops Corner................PAGE 2A Crossword................. PAGE 11B Opinion............. PAGE 10A, 12A Public Notices............ PAGE 5C Sports........................PAGE 10B Tributes ...................... PAGE 2C Real Estate................. PAGE 8B
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A powerful tribute: Hammock Beach prepares for 24th anniversary of 9/11 PAGE 8A
Flagler County quietly works with Palm Coast, extends water connection to Hammock neighborhood. SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
Bill Walsh has lived on well water since the 1970s, so he said he knew what to expect when he originally purchased his land in the Willow Woods neighborhood on the northeast side of Flagler County in 2021. But the well water was not like it was at the other homes he has had in Ormond Beach and Flagler County. Walsh said the first well they dug had 1,200 parts per million of salt. He’s learned to work with wells over the years, but he has never had to work with salt, he said. “We didn’t run anything through the appliances,” he said. “I was constantly taking it to the watershed [for testing].” Walsh said those appliances that he did run the well water through were needing replacing faster than normal because of the salt levels in the water, even with his watersoftener systems in place. And because he couldn’t use the water to cook or drink, Walsh said he was filling up four or five water jugs every week and a half for potable water. “There was no question I was going to hook up as soon as they got the water out here and placed the meters and everything,” he said. The Willow Woods neighborhood has had heavy salt levels in their well water for years, Deputy County Administrator Jorge Salinas said in a phone interview with the Observer. There are around 40 lots in that neighborhood and those without systems in place were having to live out of bottled water, he said. “They were living in, kind of, ‘camping conditions,’” Salinas said. Connecting the area to Palm Coast’s water utility is a project Flagler County has been quietly
Willow Woods resident Bill Walsh connected to city water in late 2024. Before that, he was using jugs of water for drinking and cooking. Photo by Sierra Williams
working on since 2021. In 2022 the county entered an Interlocal Agreement with Palm Coast for utility and infrastructure improvements, in which Flagler paid for the city to extend connections into the neighborhood from State Road A1A. In total, the project cost $1.5 million to design and construct, all of which was funded from the American Rescue Plan Act funds granted to Flagler County. The connections were completed in August 2024, he said. The residents of Willow Wood had the option to connect, and not
all of them chose to. Walsh said he had started digging another well just before the county and city’s work was completed and that water tested at 3,800 parts per million. It wasn’t long after he was living there that Walsh learned Flagler County was making moves to connect the neighborhood to Palm Coast’s utility system, and learning about the project was “like a breath of fresh air.” He said was excited for the opportunity to connect, because it was either that or purchase a reverse osmosis system. “One of those is like $15,000-
$20,000,” Walsh said, not including maintenance costs. Since connecting to the potable water — he forwent irrigation connections and uses his well water for that — in 2024, Walsh said he’s glad he does not have to think about all the parts and concerns that go into managing well water. The process, he said, was smooth and the contractor and his team were fantastic to work with. “We switched right away,” Walsh said. “Everything from that point has been great.”
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The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Site plan is artist rendering, not to scale. Prices, plans and specifications subject to change without notice or obligation. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification.