[Carl in Tampa]

Water in Florida is expensive because, contrary to what you may believe, Florida is often a drought environment. An examination of weather records since 1900 reveals that in every decade there has been at least one severe and widespread drought somewhere within Florida. Droughts that began in 1906, 1927, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1961, 1968, 1980, 1984, 1998, and 2006 were the most severe.

It is ironic that the various Florida Water Management Districts were created to control flood waters, but now have a primary concern of water conservation. The concerns include both the underground Florida Aquifer and surface water such as lakes and rivers. Deficits in the Florida Aquifer sometimes manifest themselves as "sinkholes." The Management Districts are very concerned with providing for clean surface water.

Complicating factors include the source of potable water by large cities. Tampa uses both surface water from the Hillsborough River and some water from water wells. St. Petersburg has no potable surface water source, nor does it have any significant source from wells in its own county. It pumps water from leased wells located in Hillsborough County.

In times of severe drought, the Water Management Districts have the legal authority to ration water used for lawn irrigation and/or filling swimming pools. They can also direct that lawns may not be irrigated in order to provide irrigation water for Florida agriculture.

Back around 1990, I served a term as an appointed representative on the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which includes most, if not all, of The Villages area. Major accomplishments during my term included the clean up and flow improvement of a feeder to Tampa Bay called Sweetwater Creek, and a clean up of Tampa Bay which brought back some species of fish that had been absent for quite some time.

I suspect the real reason for different water prices in different Community Development Districts in The Villages is because they are administered by different people who have differing views of how much money they need to fund their different infrastructures, how much they want to hold in reserve, and what future maintenance needs they foresee.