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DAN DeWITTRep. David Russell aims to prevent water being moved from the state's north to its south.
BROOKSVILLE - For State Rep. David Russell, preparing a bill that ties water use to development has become an annual ritual.
The general idea has always been the same, that local governments should make sure water is available to any development they approve. He first introduced it in 2001 and, the following year, a version passed that gently prodded cities and counties to identify sources of water.
A tougher bill stalled in the 2003 session. The Brooksville Republican will introduce it again this spring, he said, with an important addition.
His new bill will attempt to stop the controversial plan to ship water from rural areas of the northern part of the state to densely populated South Florida.
"People around the state . . . are very concerned with the proposals made by the Committee of 100," Russell said, referring to the business group that introduced the plan earlier this year.
Though the committee advises Gov. Jeb Bush on business matters, and Bush has expressed interest in the water transfer, he has stopped short of endorsing it.
Meanwhile, the proposal has drawn angry reaction from the public, and not just in rural areas most likely to be tapped by water consumers.
"Believe it or not, the folks in South Florida are just as concerned about this as the people in North Florida," Russell said.
But he acknowledged the issue is especially important to his constituents, which County Administrator Dick Radacky pointed out at a recent forum of Hernando lawmakers.
"Hernando County is really concerned because we are the next domino to fall," Radacky said. "Pasco is pumped out."
Florida law already encourages utilities to use local sources of water. Russell said he plans to strengthen this so-called local sources first law pushed by U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, when she was in the state Senate.
"The language we're looking at in essence reinforces local sources first," Russell said.
Charles Lee, of Audubon of Florida, supports Russell's efforts. But his bill will be one of many that attempt to stop the unpopular proposal, Lee said.
"It has become pretty clear that there is a ground swell of opposition to the long-distance transfer of water in the state," he said. "I think David Russell's bill will be leading a pack of many."
The opposition is well-founded, Lee added.
"There is no shortage of water in South Florida," he said. "There is not enough storage to contain natural sources of water."
The restoration of the Everglades will address the problem, he said, and additional storage could be provided by building reservoirs.
And, despite the Committee of 100's ties to the governor, Lee agrees with Russell that strengthening the local sources first laws could well be successful.
Russell also is convinced that a satisfactory version of his water bill will pass.
This year's bill is not weighed down with provisions that contributed to its failure last year. These included a ban on pumping at Cone Ranch in an area of eastern Hillsborough County, which already has been damaged by large water withdrawals; this measure is no longer necessary, Russell said, because Tampa Bay Water has since dropped its plans to drill new wells on the property.
Russell's bill would require local governments to add water to the list of other services that must be accounted for in their comprehensive plans.
It also calls for water management districts and the state departments of Community Affairs and Environmental Protection to implement the new rules.
"The other thing we're stressing is water reuse and conservation . . . (The bill) includes incentives to utilities to encourage conservation," Russell said.
- Dan DeWitt can be reached at 352 754-6116. Send e-mail to dewitt@sptimes.com Staff Writer Bobby King contributed to this report.