Drought drilling Tampa athletic fields

Despite the drought, the city is determined to keep its baseball fields fertile.

Two weeks after it was revealed the city had exempted nearly a dozen of its athletic fields from the lawn sprinkling ban, Tampa's Parks and Recreation Department has come up with a solution to keep the fields irrigated without breaking the rules.

Wells are being tapped at several ballfields to allow the city to keep the fields in good playing condition year-round, without depleting strained drinking water supplies.

The wells are allowed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and shallow enough that they won't impact the underground aquifer. They are similar to those used by homeowners across the city to water their lawns.

Parks department spokeswoman Linda Carlo said workers have located nine wells at Palma Ceia, West Tampa, Lincoln Garden, Belmont Heights and other playing fields. The parks department is initially focusing on adding wells to city-owned fields used by Little League baseball, which in the middle of its busy tournament season.

"These are more heavily used fields so they are the ones we are choosing to put our resources into now," Carlo said, adding that more wells are planned for other fields.

Swiftmud has issued permits for the wells, which will be ready by the end of the month at a cost of between $17,000 and $20,000 each. Funding will come from the city's Community Investment Tax.

Private wells owners are largely exempt from Tampa's watering restrictions: They have to follow rules such as watering days and times but are allowed to use sprinklers.

Little League officials are pleased to have the water.

Steve Stanford, president of the Palma Ceia Little League, said the irrigation keeps the grass ballfields green and the clay portion of the infields moist.

"If that clay gets too hard, it's like playing on a parking lot covered with pebbles," he said.

Tampa uses reclaimed water on most city-owned medians and parks, but many Little League playing fields, such as Bayshore on Davis Islands and Belmont Heights in East Tampa, are not hooked up to the city's reclaimed water lines.

The parks department received a variance in April from the water department to exclude the athletic fields and a plant nursery at Lowry Park Zoo from the sprinkler ban imposed last month on most property owners.

The variance allowed the department to turn on sprinklers up to twice a week.

Parks department officials said the extra watering was necessary to protect city assets and prevent injury to those using the fields. Neither parks nor water department officials could say how much water was being used, or at what cost to the city.

Mayor Pam Iorio didn't know about the decision and rescinded the variance on May 5 after reading a Tampa Tribune report about the department's exemption.

She said Wednesday the wells are a good solution.

"It is important to keep the field in good condition for the health and safety of the participants," Iorio said. "We have been addressing the situation through the emergency drilling of wells that will serve the fields now and in the future."