PALM HARBOR, Fla — The last few years the demand for reclaimed water has rapidly increased, according to Pinellas County leaders.
Pinellas County Utilities said the water reclamation facility in Palm Harbor delivered approximately 10 million gallons of reclaimed water per day. It's now distributing more than 16 million gallons per day, but there's one problem: it's only producing around six million gallons per day.
"We have limited supply. North County reclaimed water is supplied through our waste water treatment process and restricting those residents to two days a week is the current restrictions and it's valid through July 1st," Jeremy Waugh the Director Of Utilities For Pinellas County explained.
He said the county implemented strict watering schedules in an effort to conserve, but now says they're noticing water pressure issues. The county is encouraging people to pick a different watering time if pressure is low.
Waugh explained to us that the growth Tampa Bay is seeing is impacting water resources, but said the pressure the reclaimed water system is dealing with is due to lack of total rainfall over the last eight months.
"We're seeing some recharge in our aquifer and our reservoir levels. Mainly, that's been due to the watering restrictions that we put in place. People don't realize that about 50 percent of the water we use in Tampa Bay is used on lawns. So, it's a big factor," Waugh added.
That's exactly why Tina Lambeth is redoing her front yard.
"We tore it out and we thought we'd start over with some drought tolerant palms, and probably not shrubs, but like maybe agave or something like that, and gravel and just try to keep it really simple and not have to work as much but also not have to affect our waterways," Lambeth explained.
Lambeth has lived in Pinellas County for more than 20 years and worries about the quality of water she's surrounded by.
"It's just not efficient. It just doesn't make sense to me and I think again, spending money on pesticides and fertilizers that whenever it rains is getting washed in our canal systems it's wasteful," Lambeth said.
Meanwhile, Pinellas County leaders said there are long-term projects in the works to keep up with the demand.
"We're also looking at some additional storage options so that we have excess capacity in the rainy months we get extra water to keep that water stored away and tanks and such and then we will be able to use that in periods of drought and dry weather like this," Waugh said.
Back-to-back storm events brought record storm surge, rainfall and winds to the Tampa Bay region. The question some are asking now isn’t where people should rebuild, but where we should let nature regain control.
