Largo considers reclaimed water idea

The city might raise sewer fees to help pay for its growing reclaimed water system.

By ERIC STIRGUS

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 8, 2000

LARGO -- Hoping to meet the rising demand to hook up to the city's reclaimed water system, city commissioners today will discuss raising monthly sewer fees to offset the cost of providing reclaimed water to homeowners.

The proposal by city staff members calls for a $3 monthly increase for Largo property owners, from $15.75 to $18.75. Those who live outside the city but use Largo's sewer service would see their rates jump by $3.74, from $19.70 a month to $23.44.

The news isn't all bad. To entice more people to apply for reclaimed water, the monthly charge for Largo property owners would drop from $7 to $4. Non-residents would see their monthly fees reduced from $8.75 to $5.

Still, Mayor Bob Jackson knows it will not be easy to persuade residents that they should pay more for sewer service so others can have access to reclaimed water. Now, 21,628 people pay for sewer service while only 1,300 people have reclaimed water. Only 3,000 city households can get the service because not enough water lines have been installed to provide it citywide.

"It's going to be a hard job to convince the people who don't have it to pay for it," Jackson said Monday.

Commissioners will study the proposal at a work session at 4 p.m. today in City Hall's Community Room. The measure could become law as soon as Oct. 1.

Jackson said he has gotten several telephone calls from residents clamoring to get hooked up to the city's system. In June, commissioners reduced the connection fee from $250 to $125 for the first 1,500 customers who asked for service and lived in areas already hooked up to the system. The actual cost to the city of hooking someone up to reclaimed water is anywhere from $2,500 to $4,000 per person, officials say.

A day after the reduction was approved, city officials said 23 applications were received and about 100 people called to ask how they can be connected. Two weeks later, 73 people were connected to the city's system. There are 279 people waiting to be connected.

"The drought had a lot to do with" the increased demand for the service, explained city management anaylst Kenneth Knight. "The water restrictions and the perception that it is going to be more difficult to irrigate with potable water has contributed to it."

Knight also thinks people are more comfortable with the concept of reclaimed water. To get connected to the city's service, 75 percent of the residents in a service area would have to sign a petition that said they wanted reclaimed water. City staff members have suggested lowering the petition requirement to 65 percent.

The city has set aside $2.5-million for reclaimed-water projects for the next five years. That does not come close to covering the estimated yearly cost to install reclaimed-water distribution lines, about $2- to $3-million, according to city environmental officials. At a retreat in June, City Manager Steven Stanton talked about covering the cost by increasing monthly sewer charges.

Sewer fees now pay for the vast majority of the yearly cost to maintain the city's reclaimed-water system. By raising sewer rates, city officials think they can bring in slightly more than $2-million a year.

Also, city staff members have recommended approving daytime watering restrictions to apply for future state grant funds for reclaimed-water distribution expansion.

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