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Don't Allow Managers, Utilities To Drown Local Source Water Law

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 14, 2007

In Florida, drinking water can be a volatile liquid.

In the 1980s, overpumping at drinking water wellfields prompted 'water wars' among Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. North Florida residents continue to fret that urban counties will try to tap their springs and rivers. And state government has spent years battling Georgia and Alabama in court over shared water resources, including the Chattahoochee River.

A 1998 Florida law sought to douse local water-supply conflicts by requiring counties to fully tap their own resources and devise other local sources before looking to other areas for water. It's appropriately known as 'local sources first.'

But in rapidly growing Central Florida, some water managers and utilities don't seem to understand the concept.

Led by the St. Johns River Water Management District, they are eyeing water sources many miles away to satisfy their communities' needs for more drinking water. Their aggressive moves are violating the spirit of the law and could easily ignite another round of water wars.

Although no projects have been approved, a couple of outrageous proposals have been proposed.

One is to pipe water from Lake Rousseau and the Withlacoochee River west of Ocala - where Marion, Citrus and Levy counties meet - southeast to other counties.

Another pipedream that seems to be picking up much more steam is to pump water from the Ocklawaha River at State Road 40 near Ocala more than 100 miles southeast to the Orlando area.

The St. Johns River, which flows from Indian River County north to Jacksonville and into the Atlantic Ocean, also is being eyed as a water source for Orlando and other central Florida communities - a prospect some biologists say could adversely affect the river near Jacksonville.

Citrus and Marion residents and Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority officials, among others, are rightly worried about these possible raids. They may need their water sources to meet the needs of their own communities, and the law clearly states that an area's current and future water needs are paramount in applying 'local sources first.'

Unquestionably, tapping more surface water from rivers and lakes is a necessity. Florida must continue to move away from excessive groundwater pumping that dries up wetlands and prevents the underground aquifer from being replenished.

But communities that have failed to control growth and plan for future water needs shouldn't be allowed to siphon water from other regions. Such a practice allows them to escape the true costs of growth while compromising the resources of the 'donor' community.

Florida Public Service Commissioner Nancy Argenziano, a former state senator who was a key author of the local sources law, says the St. Johns district, which covers part or all of 18 counties from Northeast Florida south to Indian River, has 'gotten lazy,' and she's right.

As an example of success, she points to the Tampa Bay area. The Southwest Florida Water Management District and Tampa Bay Water, a regional water utility that serves Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough, have partnered in the development of a wide range of water-supply sources, including desalination and a massive reservoir, to reduce dependency on groundwater.

In contrast, St. Johns is behind the curve. It refuses to immediately pursue desalination, which, under local sources first, must be considered before water transfers can be allowed.

District officials argue that desalination is expensive, which is true. Still, cost is not a good reason for raiding water from another region. Tampa Bay Water has faced numerous problems with its desalination plant, which cost more than $100 million, but the technology works and the plant is producing drinking water.

The Legislature hasn't done communities that need more drinking water any favors, either, with its latest round of budget cuts. Lawmakers sliced $60 million previously allocated to develop alternative water supplies and fund other water-related programs.

Conservation also must be addressed before authorizing transfers. On that measure, St. Johns flunks. District residents are allowed to irrigate their lawns twice a week. Tampa Bay residents are limited to one day a week.

Water is a state resource, and transporting it from rural counties to urban ones may sometimes be an appropriate strategy. But, as Argenziano says, strict criteria must be followed first. And the environment and welfare of donor counties also must be protected.

St. Johns and eager utilities are looking for an easy way to avoid paying the price of poor growth policies. State officials should make sure these pipedreams never get past the discussion stage.

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