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Official worries for water supply

A 1977 agreement that allows water from Citrus to be transferred to other counties makes a commissioner uneasy.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published August 13, 2006

Citrus officials have long agreed that water is one of the county's most valuable resources.

Now, at least one county commissioner is preparing to fight for it.

Commissioner Joyce Valentino is leading the charge in a battle that has been brewing for months, as local environmental groups worry that development in Citrus and neighboring counties could sap the county's water supply.

As one of the county's three representatives on the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority, Valentino wants to put the county's 1977 agreement with the group back on the table.

"I don't want to be in the water transfer business," she said.

But that, Valentino said, is a real possibility, because language in the agreement allows water from Citrus to be transferred to counties in the regional authority - including neighboring Sumter and Hernando.

Valentino is working with County Attorney Robert "Butch" Battista and Director of Utility Regulation Robert Knight to rewrite parts of the agreement to protect Citrus water. The proposal is slated to go before the authority's 13-member board in October.

"It's going to be complicated. There may be other counties that don't want to open this door," she said. "There may be other counties that want the water."

At a meeting of the environmental group TOOFAR last month, Jackson Sullivan, the authority's executive director, said no plans for water transfer are in the works.

"It's not something we would do unless there was a real dramatic need for it," he said.

But after Sullivan spoke, Valentino came to the lectern and said water transfer is an issue county officials need to deal with.

"It's better to address it now than wait until water wars start," she said last week.

* * *

For many Citrus environmentalists, the enemy is about 30 miles away in Sumter County.

The Villages has a population of roughly 60,000, but developers plan to expand the sprawling age-restricted community. At least 100,000 people will live there by 2010.

And when officials shape regional water policies, Citrus County's future is often tied into plans for Sumter County's development.

Recently, Valentino said that has led to a delay in establishing the minimum flows and levels for several Citrus waterways - a project Southwest Florida Water Management District officials originally planned to finish earlier this year.

Setting the levels places a limit on how much can be withdrawn from local bodies of water. And officials from the Villages have expressed concern that the levels would limit their ability to continue developing the community.

But many audience members at last month's TOOFAR meeting said the community's explosive growth was placing Citrus County's water at risk.

Citrus Water and Wastewater Authority member Don Cox said proposed plans in the Villages would require 28-million gallons of water daily.

Whether some of that water would come from Citrus was a question that loomed large.

Sullivan said the water supply authority began in 1977 as a way to help Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion and Sumter governments protect their resources.

Since then, he said, the "focus has been on protecting our water supplies from exportation until we can evaluate our need for water in the future and build up our water supply."

But several audience members at the meeting said they were skeptical.

"Water is being transferred from county to county. ... I see nothing to prohibit that from happening," said Gus Krayer of Lecanto.

Pritchard Island resident Al Grubman said it was "disturbing" to learn that the authority could decide to transfer Citrus water.

Crystal River resident Gail Jannarone suggested that Citrus withdraw from the regional authority.

But Sullivan said they should not be concerned.

"I don't know that Citrus County has given up anything," he said. "I don't think the authority's board members have ever given me any indication that they have the desire to transfer water from one county to another."

* * *

As Sullivan spoke, four candidates for the County Commission District 4 seat listened. And since then, the issue has become a hot topic at political forums and campaign appearances around the county.

One candidate in the audience was Mike Smallridge, chairman of the county's Water and Wastewater Authority.

Last week, Smallridge motioned for the five-member board to send a letter to Battista, asking the county attorney to evaluate the county's agreement with the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority.

The letter, which Smallridge signed Friday, asks whether Citrus "needs additional protection to prevent water transfer outside of Citrus that would be detrimental to the needs of the citizens of this county."

Smallridge asked Battista to reply to the letter by Sept. 12.

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

[Last modified August 12, 2006, 20:54:39]