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Solutions To Water Shortage

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 8, 2009

Until we manage our water more effectively we'll never have enough. Ending development today isn't the answer.

Look no further than Israel, a thriving country carved out of a desert, if you think we've exhausted our water resources. Our largest problem aside from managing our water is the cost of pumping it from the ground and purifying it into potable water that we indiscriminately overuse for everything.

The Villages, a major retirement community in Florida, captures its stormwater via its underground collection system. Ponds with impervious liners store the water so it can be filtered, lightly chlorinated and pumped into the community irrigation/fire protection system. It saves a fortune in deep-well groundwater pumping and treatment costs, while distributing its potable water for household use only.

The Villages also distributes reclaimed water from two treatment plants to further support irrigation needs. Customers are metered for both their irrigation and potable water through an advanced automated reading system that helps control usage while limiting the number of personnel and the associated costs in meter reading. In drought situations, irrigation can be effectively controlled without limiting the potable supply. It's a tremendous example of a modern community of 50,000 people where water management is designed into the infrastructure.

If we ever come to terms with nuclear energy we can reverse osmosify and distill water in excess of the need. Until then we can lament overdevelopment and the antiquated, worn-out systems we currently rely on. We have the answers.

STEVE HEMINGWAY

Tampa

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