It took a long time to get support, but the county is now considering tougher limits on businesses and activities near well heads.
By JOSH ZIMMER
Published March 19, 2004
ODESSA - Armed with new scientific data, Hillsborough County planners responsible for reviewing the well head protection ordinance came up with a seemingly innocent idea in late 2002.
Since water travels underground in a smaller area than previously thought, why not reduce the protective zones?
It wasn't long before planners regretted making the suggestion. About a year later, they submitted an even more restrictive plan than the current one.
The watchful residents of northwest Hillsborough can take some of the credit. When they saw the original proposal, they protested.
"I am very satisfied with the way the ordinance is to be presented," technical advisory committee member James Fand said this week. "It has been a lot of work but it has been well worth it."
The county's Department of Planning and Growth Management recently submitted the tougher plan for review. Administrative Services director Dan Blood, who led the effort, said he was pleased with last week's response from the City-County Planning Commission and the County Commission.
Getting there wasn't easy. After the County Commission saw the level of dissatisfaction, members ordered Blood to organize more meetings around the county, guaranteeing the process would take longer than envisioned. Because the well head protection zones limit development in those areas, the commissioners felt many people had a stake in whether the ordinance got tougher or weaker.
Current regulations restrict certain businesses and activities, such as landfills and dairy farms, within special buffer areas that surround the well heads. They also are a buffer against development in parts of northwest Hillsborough where residents want to maintain a rural lifestyle.
Drafting a new ordinance was complicated, as there was new science to consider. The technical advisory committee also had to redraw maps to include additional water sources cited by the area's supplier, Tampa Bay Water. That meant the rules had to cover treated surface water from the Tampa Bypass Canal, as well as the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers.
The version they are now considering adds to the list of prohibited activities within the buffer zones, including bans on land excavation, junkyards, aquifer storage wells and human cemeteries.
- Josh Zimmer covers the University of South Florida area, Keystone and Odessa and Citrus Park.
