The county commissioners on Wednesday tabled the tax sale of six properties in the Woodlands neighborhood in Connoquenessing Township to ensure the successful bidders understand what they are getting.

The six parcels each included a successful bid of $600.

The Woodlands originally was a campground off Route 528, then the campground owner subdivided the property into lots many years ago and sold them off.

The township did not take over the many roads in the neighborhood, which are not maintained.

Many residents there claim that nearby fracking in 2011 eliminated their wells, and eight residents even received a settlement from the former fracking company Rex Energy after a lawsuit was brought against the company. However, it has not been officially determined that fracking caused the well issues in the Woodlands.

Rex Energy said at the time that the settlements, which totaled $158,875, did not indicate an admission that its work damaged the residents' wells.

Many residents there still have no water source, unusable water or decreased water availability, and some buy water from the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Department to fill a tank connected to their pipes.

White Oak Springs Presbyterian Church on Shannon Road has maintained a water bank, known as Water for the Woodlands, where Woodlands residents can get free bottled water for cooking and drinking.

The owners of the six tax sale properties that were tabled by the commissioners have not paid taxes on the properties for several years.

Commissioner Kim Geyer said people have bought property at the Woodlands through tax sales in the past thinking they were getting a parcel of land for a great price, then contacted the commissioners when they realized the property had no water source and a failing septic system.

“It could be a public health issue if there is no running water and no public sanitation,” she said.

County solicitor Wil White said some residents of the Woodlands buy adjacent properties at tax sales, but those buyers are aware of the conditions.

“I am not fully confident these people know what they're buying,” said Leslie Osche, commissioners chairwoman, of the list of successful bidders on Woodlands properties on Wednesday.

The commissioners said they plan to meet with Connoquenessing Township supervisors to discuss enacting township ordinances that would prevent a situation similar to what happened at the Woodlands from occurring again.

“There has to be a long-term solution to this,” Osche said.

She said banking the parcels as they come up for sale to create another use for the Woodlands property might be one solution.

“We can't do much about the existing situation, but we can make changes for the future,” Osche said.