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Water pumping possibilities upset officials
By DAN DeWITT
© St. Petersburg Times, BROOKSVILLE -- To talk of tapping into Hernando County's water resources -- and especially the Weeki Wachee Spring -- is to get on the fighting side of the lawmakers who represent Hernando County. "The previous water wars of the 1990s will be (viewed) as tame compared to what will happen if Tampa Bay Water looks to Hernando County or any northern county for future water supplies," state Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, wrote in a letter to Jerry Maxwell, general manager of the water consortium that serves most of Tampa Bay. The letter was in response to a list of future water sources for the agency that includes two Hernando County locations, the Weeki Wachee and a well field in eastern Hernando County. The letter, which was written on Monday, was signed by all four members of the county's legislative delegation: Brown-Waite, David Russell, R-Brooksville, Nancy Argenziano, R-Crystal River and Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey. They argued against pumping in Hernando County partly on the basis of the so-called "local sources first" law, which was sponsored by Brown-Waite and Argenziano in 1998, and partly on emotion. "My cold dead body will be lying in the right-of-way before they put the pipe in" to carry water from Weeki Wachee, Russell said Tuesday. "They are not going to turn other counties into the same devastated wasteland that they did Pasco County. It's kind of burn and leave policy," Brown-Waite said Tuesday of the well field proposal. Hernando County Commissioners also voted on Tuesday to send a letter to Tampa Bay Water strongly opposing any plans to pump water from the county. Michelle Robinson, spokeswoman for the agency, said such talk is premature. The list came out of a series of public workshops held in April. These meetings produced about 300 ideas. An engineering firm hired by Tampa Bay Water then cut this to a list of 35 sources that were considered the most feasible, including both the Weeki Wachee and the east Hernando well field site. But Robinson said the agency still has no definite plans to use either source. It has not even identified a specific location in the county for the well field. "What we have is simply a brainstorming list that came out of these meetings. This has not been recommended by our board for action," Robinson said. She also said the agency is considering all feasible local resources. It is building the largest desalination plant in the country, she said, and its board is expected to approve a second next week. The local sources first law does not mandate that utilities find water in the areas they serve. But it does require them to consider "all economically and technically feasible alternatives" before drawing water from outside sources, Brown-Waite's letter said. And if residents of the Tampa Bay area might consider the Hernando sources feasible, Brown-Waite said, the county's residents would not. "The voices of our constituents in Hernando County have not yet been heard by your board. We predict that Hernando County residents will turn out in the thousands should you have the temerity to hold a public hearing here." - Dan DeWitt covers the environment, politics and the city of Brooksville. He can be reached at (352) 754-6116 or dewitt@sptimes.com.
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From today's Hernando Times |
