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County Complies With Water Rules

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By MIKE SALINERO

msalinero@tampatrib.com

Published: April 2, 2009

TAMPA - Following orders from regional water authorities, Hillsborough County commissioners voted Wednesday to tighten regulations governing when residents can water lawns and landscaping.

But commissioners stopped short of banning any use of lawn irrigation systems, as the Tampa City Council did recently.

Adopting rules passed Tuesday by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the commission voted to limit lawn watering with sprinkler systems to between midnight and 4 a.m. on the one day a week when allowed on lots of one acre or less. Residents with larger lots can water from 8 p.m. to midnight on the one day a week allowed.

Hand-watering or using microirrigation, once allowed any day of the week, is limited to three days a week. Pressure washing, except by professionals, and home car washing are prohibited under the new rules, which go into effect Friday.

County water official Bart Weiss told commissioners that Tampa's water problems are more dire than the county's. The city depends primarily on a reservoir on the Hillsborough River, which is at its lowest point ever, Weiss said.

The county, however, has a distribution system tied to Tampa Bay Water, the regional water supplier. The city is connected to Tampa Bay Water's system at only two points and can't distribute that water to South Tampa or West Tampa, Weiss said.

"They never built enough infrastructure to get the full capacity that their citizens can use," he said.

Weiss said the county will continue to enforce water restrictions, including the ban on lawn irrigation, for Tampa water customers living outside the city. The county issues about 350 citations a month to residents who violate watering restrictions.

For details on the water district's new watering restrictions, go to www.water matters.org.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303.

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