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Rates could change habits
By JAMES THORNER, Times Staff Writer WESLEY CHAPEL -- When Jim Marchesiello moved to Meadow Pointe seven years ago, the reclaimed water he sprayed on his lawn was free and plentiful. He's about to enter the era of expensive and scarce: Pasco County plans to install meters at his home and thousands of other homes to impose per-gallon rates like it does for potable water. Is Marchesiello happy? Definitely not. "This is going to be ridiculous," the semiretired Wesley Chapel resident said as he hosed his front yard Thursday. "That's one aspect of why we move out here, to have free reclaimed water." The same complaints are sure to circulate among all the central Pasco neighborhoods that receive reclaimed water, the deodorized byproduct of sewage treatment used for lawn irrigation. The county pipes the water to about 5,000 customers in eight neighborhoods: Meadow Pointe, Northwood, the Lakes at Northwood, Brookside, Quail Hollow, Lexington Oaks, Stagecoach and Sable Ridge. But with thousands of homes on the waiting list for the stuff, Pasco has gotten serious about rationing. It takes sewage from five or six homes to make enough reclaimed water for one home. Next year, Pasco plans to cancel its $6.40-per-month flat rate for reclaimed water and start charging by consumption, county utilities chief Doug Bramlett said. The rate, which Bramlett said would rise as household consumption rises, won't be set until the completion of a rate study. Frank Kearns, who has lived in the Stagecoach neighborhood in Land O'Lakes for five years, said rates had better be far enough below those of drinking water or people will abandon reclaimed water. "It's terrible they're going to do that," Kearns said as his shoes sank in his yard of deep green St. Augustine grass. "It's a nice thing to have, a great idea. It's been a lot cheaper than drinking water." About a decade ago, the cities and counties, including Pasco, were desperate to give the water away. Tampa still dumps millions of gallons of its treated wastewater into Tampa Bay each day. But with the builders and developers clamoring to offer reclaimed water to their home buyers, the county needs to clamp down on existing customers, who can quickly deplete the 1.5-million gallons produced daily in central Pasco. George Murphy was among the few neighbors interviewed Thursday who backed the county's proposed price increase for reclaimed water. The Stagecoach resident said he's frustrated by low water pressure in his sprinkler system caused by other residents overusing the water. "In a way it's good what the county is doing," he said. "A lot of people really abuse it. Now they'll have to pay for it." But Marchesiello, the Meadow Pointe resident, said he's doing his part to save water. His front yard is an expanse of drought-resistant plants, including cactus. He predicts the county will face resistance from residents who moved to Pasco with the promise of everlasting, cheap reclaimed water. "They're going to have their hands full," he said.
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From today's Pasco Times |
