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© St. Petersburg Times, published November 14, 2002
Editor: Re: End the county's water games, Nov. 8 guest column by James Polk.
I agree with some of the opinions Mr. Polk expressed regarding the problems between Florida Water Services and the Hernando County Commission. There is no doubt there is a major lack of cooperation between the two entities and the continuing blame game does nothing to solve the problem.
However, Mr. Polk and many other so-called educated people in this county have oversimplified the problem; more important, they have completely missed the point regarding this issue.
The decision the county commissioners made by denying these wells was not for the actual well, but for the location the wells were to be placed. This decision was based on concerns of possible geological impacts, property value impacts and for the health, safety and welfare of the residents in the immediate area, all of which can be considered land-use issues.
It is true that through the years Florida Water has been denied applications for new well field locations to keep up with existing and new demands for water. Each time these applications were denied, the residents in the immediate area expressed their concerns regarding the impact it may have on them -- the so-called uninformed "Not in My Back Yard" argument.
For years homeowners in the area that the wells were to be located have fought to stop it due to their concerns about the possibility of increasing the cause of sinkholes, the affect of drawdown on existing wells, property values and in some circumstances, the fact that the location of the well was chosen not to serve the people in the immediate area, but to serve residences in another location.
Florida Water has always arrogantly dismissed these concerns as unfounded nonsense and has continued to blatantly disregard people's concerns, and tried to locate these wells not where it would necessarily benefit its customers, but where it would be most cost-effective for them, with absolutely no regard for the impact it may have on property owners in the area.
Mr. Polk's solution to the area's water problems is to simply allow Florida Water to put the wells in, completely disregarding the impact they may have on surrounding homeowners and the environment. He justifies the need to do this because Florida Water customers are being treated unfairly, and hypocritically notes the danger of a fire hazard due to low pressure. Yet, customers continue to water their lawns needlessly and we, the uninformed NIMBYs, are supposed to suffer any negative impact the wells may have.
Perhaps they could put the well in Mr. Polk's back yard.
The solution to meeting existing and future water demands cannot be to simply put in new wells as demand increases, regardless of whose back yard they go in. A person does not have to be an engineer or a geologist to understand that with the exploding growth in this area and in this state, there comes a point where relying on well fields for water will not be an option.
There must be a serious effort made by county government, the utility companies and the Southwest Florida Water Management District to plan for alternative water sources, enforceable and meaningful conservation laws and in the meantime, the strategic location of wells, if truly needed, that meaningfully minimize the impact on homeowners and the environment, not just minimize the cost to Florida Water.
-- Jon and Connie Woodruff, Spring Hill
Editor: Re: How Brown-Waite ousted Thurman, Nov. 7 Times:
How quick we forget how much Ginny Brown-Waite did for us while on the County Commission, and also what she did while in the state Senate. Some of you were not even residents of this county then.
In spite of those misguided and misinformed know-it-alls, and Harvey Waite's shameful fiasco, Senator Brown-Waite (now Congresswoman) did everything she could do to help resolve the affordable housing issue. Karen Thurman was not visible in any of the efforts to get this issue resolved.
Ginny lost the county she lived in and helped so much in many ways, most of which you know nothing about. In spite of you, we now have the right representation in Washington, D.C.
-- Nina Roca, Brooksville
Editor: Re: Low-cost housing dogged Commissioner Kingsley, Nov. 7 column by Jeff Webb:
The irony of Webb's complaint against Robert Schenck leaves me choking with laughter. So Schenck "took excerpts from a Times editorial -- none were completely accurate."
How often do the newspapers inaccurately quote statements made by people?
Turn about is more than fair. You had this coming.
-- Jean Lane, Brooksville