PERINTON, N.Y. — A resident at a low-income housing complex in Perinton has been voicing concerns after he says he found rodents in the water supply.
Now, Spectrum News 1 has learned more about the matter and whether there is a water crisis at the Pines of Perinton.
"We need water desperately," said resident Tim Seegler. "What you see over there is all I have. I can’t play God anymore. I never wanted to."
Seegler believes his intervention was needed when he said his water heater broke last Friday at his Pines of Perinton apartment complex and he said found rodent carcasses that he told neighbors were inside the tank and that he believes it had infected the water.
Seegler is a self-described tenant leader at this low-income housing complex. He’s still feeding the neighborhood flock of geese with some of the water reserves raised since his claims of water contamination spread through the complex and by local media.
Wegmans donated cases of water after the matter became public. A few neighbors are still tapping into it.
"I’m unsure if the water supply is safe right now. They replaced the tank," said one resident.
"I support the tenants," said Seegler. "They need safe and secure and affordable housing here."
The Pines is safe, the water is safe and of high quality," said Ed Cafasso who represents WinnCompanies, which bought the complex two and a half years ago.
Cafasso said not only did Winn staff replace the water heater just hours after it broke with a state-of-the-art model, and return service to 20 units, but a Monroe County Health Department review of the water found no contamination.
Cafasso calls it the latest disinformation from one resident to discredit Winn’s management of the low-income housing property. Only a few of the more than 400 people who live here have come for water.
As for the mice carcasses found, an inspector said they may have come from a nest inside or near the water tank.
"At no time did they ever penetrate the tank," said Cafasso. "At no time did any test conducted by the county health department find any contamination from rodents in the water at Pines of Perinton."
Seegler and a neighbor keep buying water and keep claiming Winn is covering up problems at the Pines. The town has cited 26 code violations there. Winn will address them and introduce a long-delayed and deserved makeover of the 50-year-old property to begin next year.
"I just can’t -- I can’t allow this," said Seegler.
Winncompanies says in the two-plus years it's owned the Pines of Perinton, it has responded to and closed more than 4,100 calls for service.
Local government leaders first responded to Tim Seegler's claim of water contamination at the complex, but that support has dried up since the county tested the water and found it to be safe. Seegler continues to file complaints about other code violations he says he's found at the property.