Letters to the Editors

Swiftmud rightly concerned about additional pumping

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 28, 1999

Editor: At a time when area residents are mandated by law to comply with restrictions regarding their use of water, Zephyrhills Spring Water Co./Perrier/Nestle and Robert Thomas, owner of Crystal Springs, are arguing their case to increase their permit to withdraw water from Crystal Springs by six times the currently permitted amount.

Southwest Florida Water Management District, commonly known as Swiftmud, the agency charged with protecting the environment against excessive withdrawals, has already denied the request for additional pumping because Perrier has not proven that the additional withdrawals will not affect the ecosystem and flow of the Hillsborough River, source of 50 percent of the city of Tampa's drinking water.

Perrier/Nestle states it needs the additional water to meet the growth and demand for its product. To approve additional pumping can no more be justified for this reason than we could accept the deforestation of cypress domes because of the demand for cypress mulch. Profits are not the be-all and the end-all. The amount of freshwater that we have on this Earth and in our area is limited. It is finite, and we should guard the use of it in a responsible way.

The Pasco County Economic Development Council, reacting to Zephyrhills Spring Water Co.'s threat to pack up and leave, has joined Perrier in its public relations campaign to convince area residents and leaders that what they are requesting will do no harm and Swiftmud is wrong in denying increased pumpage. Judith Rochelle, president of the Pasco Economic Development Council, urges her colleagues to lobby for Zephyrhills Spring Water Co. "Call your individual Swiftmud board members in support of the water company," Rochelle says.

It seems to me that the leader of the Pasco Economic Development Council, in an effort to present Pasco County's image as a "business-friendly county," is supporting further destruction of Pasco County and growth at any cost. We need to recruit businesses that will be good environmental stewards of our resources. Perhaps, the Pasco Economic Development Council needs to take a disaster tour of damage already done to the county's wetlands due to overpumping.

The facts are that the Hillsborough River is already down because of groundwater pumping. As the aquifer is mined, the spring flow goes down. It doesn't make sense to take water from the Hillsborough River and ship it out of the area. Further removal of water will affect the tri-county's water in many ways. The Pasco County Economic Development Council would be wise to support businesses that will not be a continual drain on the groundwater.

Zephyrhills Spring Water Co. is supportive of many local projects and has received awards from the state and the county, but that does not give it the right to export this additional water when we're already experiencing dire shortages. If Zephyrhills Spring Water Co. chooses to go elsewhere for its expansion, the resource would not be further depleted, and that will be a bonus for the county's ability to attract businesses that are environmentally friendly.

Many Pasco residents disapprove of the bottling of more water from Crystal Springs while the region searches for costly new sources of drinking water. Let's support Swiftmud's concern over the effects that additional pumping would have.
-- Pat Carver, Dade City

Architect defends effort to get cost estimates

Editor: There have been several reports in your paper which have erroneously suggested that I, as architect for the Cavalaire Square project, didn't properly pursue current construction costs data before bidding. The fact is that, at the completion of development drawings for that project, we submitted our documents to a general contractor for cost estimates.

Those drawings were submitted to subcontractors and actual prices were obtained. Those efforts indicated that the park could have, at that time, been built for under $100,000. The project went to bid a year later in the middle of a building boom the likes of which I haven't seen since the '70s. Construction prices and material delays were, and still are, at record highs.

Contractors in this market are in such high demand that they can pick and choose their projects. Small contractors who would usually build such a small project as this will certainly choose private negotiated work over public bid work. Forecasters tell us that this boom is not likely to end any time soon.

The bottom line is this: We obtained real cost estimates from the construction industry. I did my job well and am extremely proud of the results.
-- Charles S. Partin, New Port Richey

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