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BRIDGET HALL GRUMETCounty officials say a water swap plan could result in far more water being pumped at Crystal Springs.
NEW PORT RICHEY - Fearing it could open the floodgates for people to sell off their excess water, county officials raised concerns Tuesday about the plans to increase pumping at Crystal Springs.
On paper, the proposal looks like a water swap. In exchange for reducing his permitted pumping at the Two Rivers Ranch from 1.2-million to 392,106 gallons per day, owner Robert Thomas would be allowed to pump an additional 425,893 gallons per day from the springs.
Thomas would sell that spring water to Zephryhills Natural Spring Water Co.
But county officials say the numbers can be deceiving. Thomas currently uses less than half of the 1.2-million gallons allowed at the ranch, said Assistant County Attorney Joe Richards. So Thomas' actual water use at the ranch would remain about the same, even as the pumping more than doubles at the springs, Richards told the County Commission.
"In the financial world they talk about cooking the books," said County Commissioner Ann Hildebrand. "Here they're just trying to cook the water."
Plant City filed a petition last month to block the Southwest Florida Water Management District from approving the permits. The County Commission asked for more information to decide Aug. 26 whether to follow suit.
Richards said the case could set a precedent. In the past, Swiftmud has looked at actual water use, not permitted water use, in deciding whether to allow more or less pumping, he said.
If the focus changes to permitted water use, anyone with a water use permit could try to sell their excess water, he said.
"There will be carpetbaggers looking to buy your well on an everyday basis," Commissioner Steve Simon said, nodding in agreement.
In other news at Tuesday's meeting, commissioners got an early glimpse of how some judicial system costs will be shifted to the state next year.
The county will save an estimated $7.9-million a year, Chief Judge David Demers told commissioners. He said the state will pick up the cost of the judicial services provided by the clerk of court's office, as well as pay for court reporters, expert witness fees and some other expenses.
At the same time, the county no longer will get the revenue collected by the clerk's office, a figure that was unavailable Tuesday. And the county still will have to pay for more than $120,000 in technology costs, plus an untold amount in local programs the state won't fund, such as Teen Court, Demers said.
So how much will the county still spend? Officials hope to have a clearer picture next spring, after the Legislature finalizes the list of state-supported judicial programs.
Commissioners also settled two lawsuits with three companies over the county's billboard ordinance. In exchange for dropping the complaints, the county will reimburse the companies for half of their recent billboard registration and renewal fees.
That comes out to $3,375 for Logan Outdoor Advertising and $22,062.50 for two sister companies, National Advertising Company and Infinity Outdoor of Florida.
The county has since revised its 1999 ordinance, which banned the construction of new billboards and only allowed existing ones to be replaced if they were damaged by an "act of God." Under a state law passed last year, the county cannot force owners to take down their billboards without compensation.
Commissioners reached a similar settlement July 1 with two other billboard companies, agreeing to pay $26,125 to Clear Channel Outdoor and $22,125 to Lamar Advertising of Lakeland.
- Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is hall@sptimes.com