Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Reclaimed water project drying up

Not enough South Tampa residents have connected to the system to justify moving ahead, say city officials.

By JANET ZINK
Published September 29, 2005

TAMPA - The city's reclaimed water project has been such a failure in South Tampa that officials are putting its second phase on hold indefinitely.

The City Council was set to vote today on a $278,000 contract to design a system that would take reclaimed water from Swann Avenue as far south as Gandy Boulevard.

It was pulled from the agenda.

Instead, city officials want to pay a consultant about $50,000 to tell them how to make the existing reclaimed water system more profitable, said Steve Daignault, Tampa's administrator for public works and utilities.

That's likely to go to the council for approval in October, he said.

"Our goal is to get more customers," he said.

Fewer than 30 percent of the 5,000 people who can hook up to the system have actually done so.

Back in 2000, in the midst of an unusually dry period when restrictions limited lawn watering to one day a week, thousands said they'd pay to connect to reclaimed water pipes. The connection would give them the privilege of unlimited lawn watering without endangering drinking water supplies.

Then-Mayor Dick Greco approved spending $13.5-million on the first phase of the pipeline, promising it would be self-sustaining.

But it has earned less than $50,000 so far this year, and is costing the city more than $1-million.

People haven't wanted to sign up for the program because the water crisis seems to have passed, Daignault said.

To get reclaimed water in Tampa, property owners pay $375 to connect an irrigation meter to city lines, plus a $41.50 permitting fee. Customers also have to hire a plumber or do their own plumbing work to link from the meter to their yards. That can cost from $150 to $1,500.

Afterward, customers pay $1.79 for every 1,000 gallons they use. City residents pay $1.60 to $2.70 per 1,000 gallons for potable water, depending upon how much they use.

--Janet Zink can be reached at 813 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 29, 2005, 01:18:09]