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Group scrutinizes water to ensure it keeps flowing
By WILL VAN SANT BROOKSVILLE -- Each time somebody twists a faucet, the quality of the water that comes out and how much it costs can depend on distant aquifer-fouling developments or the decisions of office-bound bureaucrats or, more often than not, both. On Thursday, in the second of six seminars being conducted by Citizens for WATER, the seemingly miraculous -- a clean water supply in every home and building -- was shown to result from a complex web of land and water regulation that most people know little about. Members of Citizens for WATER (Water Awareness Through Education and Research) are an exception. Founded in 1997 as the result of outreach efforts by county government, the small group of residents, now numbering eight, has dedicated itself to learning about water issues facing the region and passing that knowledge on to others, both informally and in visits to community groups. "We can't forget that we have people coming after us," said group member Roland Gast. "We are enjoying what we have, and we have to make sure there is fresh, clean water for our grandkids." Thursday's seminar, titled "Land/Water Linkage: Who Does What?" took place at the Hernando County Utilities Department administration building on Cortez Boulevard. The speakers were county Planning Department director Larry Jennings and Rich McLean, a former regulator for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. McLean is now a private environmental consultant. Stressing that "you have to have water available for development to occur," Jennings presented a map of the county's planned growth areas: Spring Hill up the U.S. 19 corridor, Brooksville and the Interstate 75 interchanges. These expanding areas are best served by a large utility or utilities rather than a patchwork of systems, Jennings said. Consequently, the county's comprehensive plan -- a blueprint for long-term growth -- is annually revised to ensure that improvements to existing systems can meet rising water demand. Jennings said the studies done to determine whether the county has enough water available to handle expected growth bode well. But he added that such assessments involve some level of error -- and that proper oversight is a must. "It's a matter of being a good steward of a resource," Jennings said. Part of that stewardship involves keeping groundwater free from contamination. Jennings said the county has ordinances in place that prohibit certain types of development on land above sensitive aquifer areas. The laws, he said, have the same force as zoning regulations. McLean explained that Swiftmud, and the Coastal River and Withlacoochee River basin boards under it, are unique bodies: nonelected regulators with the power to tax. The taxation-without-representation scheme was important to the state, which formed the water management districts in 1972 because some felt management of water resources was too important to be left to politicians, McLean said. Swiftmud, mandated to oversee water supply, quality and natural systems, and to provide flood control, has powers that trump county regulatory laws, just as the water agency itself must answer to the state Department of Environmental Protection, McLean said. To get along with Swiftmud, for which McLean worked from 1976 until 1998, counties such as Hernando must learn what he dubbed "district think." "The district is flexible, but it tends to lock into an approach," McLean said. "If a plan can be fashioned that meets your needs as well as the district's, that would be good." The most adversarial Swiftmud regulators are those working in the lower levels of the organization, McLean said. When the district is doing something the public or local government does not approve of, he said, go to the governing board and executive staff. "Go to the higher levels," he said. "That's where the flexibility is." Many people, busy attending to their immediate needs and blithely turning the faucet, may find such details about water regulation mind-numbing. To Citizens for WATER members, however, being informed is common sense. "There is so much planning that goes on the public is not aware of," said member Bob Sachs. "When the brown stuff starts coming out of the faucet, that's when people will say, "What happened?' " -- Will Van Sant covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6127. Send e-mail to vansant@sptimes.com . More seminars scheduledCitizens for WATER is looking for new members. To learn how to join or find out when the seminars, which are taped, will be shown on cable television on the Hernando County Government Broadcasting channel, contact county water conservation coordinator Alys Brockway at 540-4368, ext. 139. Here are the remaining seminars in the series, all of which are from 10 a.m. to noon at the Hernando County Utilities Department administration building, 21030 Cortez Blvd, Brooksville: Jan. 9 -- "Flood Control: Where Should It Be?" Feb. 13 -- "Sinkholes: Where Did That Come From?" March 13 -- "Hernando County Springs Protection" April 10 -- Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Program
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