Sewage Water For Sanibel Area Golf Courses
 

Friday evening we were exploring the new Sanibel area in our golf cart and were shocked by the strong sewage smell apparently eminating from the new golf course areas which were being watered. Saturday when visiting the Villages "final phase " new open houses in the area I questioned a sales rep about the smell and was told:
Yes they are using reclaimed sewage water;
Don't know why they still have the smell;
All new courses are going to use that water and " thats the price you pay
to live on the new courses".

Anybody else notice the same smelly problem recently, or did we just hit it on a bad night? We were considering a new build in the area, but now????

Jim -

FWIW - from the VHA's October edition of The Villages Voice:

http://thevha.net/the-villages-voice...35&article=820

Bill :)

I am surprised by the word SEWAGE. Are you absolutely, completely sure that is the word used? Sewage means to me water that may have human waste in it. And I would fire that sales person for using "and that's the price you pay for living on new courses". Wow...bad use of words there. Most of the sales reps I have met are smarter than that.

Most courses and our lawns south of 466 are watered by reclaimed water from ponds and sometimes the ponds in hot weather can have some rank odors.

That is what I have heard repeatedly, but I could be wrong.

Seems a little dangerous to be sprayin' sh*tty water on the golf courses.

I was over there durring the week and they were putting a high grade fertilizer down by tractor. It smelled like ?. So I would imagine when it gets wet it repeats the smell until it sets in. JMO

I take my dogs for a golf cart ride at night and for about two weeks now I have encountered that smell. It is terrible!!!!! :shrug:

In Ohio farmin' area that is perfume!

Wow... that's interesting. Thanks for the link!
I have a question, though. All of the water at our house (interior and exterior) smells fine. The taste is a bit different from what I grew up on, but not by much.
HOWEVER, a few neighbors down the block are experiencing really yucky water. Has the strong sulfur taste and smell and when they wash clothes or shower, the smell clings. The toilet water smells continually as well.
We're in a brand new CYV section. Anybody have a clue why only some of us are having this experience?

And to that point. I've heard many people say the water taste bad, taste good, is hard, is soft.

Does all the water come from one place???

Sewage = Sludge
 

In VA, human waste is treated (?) and becomes Sludge, which is used as fertilizer by farmers. We recognized the odor, when we rode our carts along Sannibel on Friday - en route to Colony Plaza. Sadly, Gracie, Sludge IS human waste. :( Don't know for sure that is what is being used here, but the smell was the same...........

You have to know what "reclaimed water" means. Reclaimed water or recycled water, is former wastewater(sewage) that is treated to remove solids and certain impurities, and used in sustainable landscaping irrigation or to recharge groundwater aquifers. Chlorine has been added for safety reasons. It is NOT safe to drink the water.

On your golf scorecards, it states in English and Spanish that the water is not potable water.

Sludge
 

Same thing up here on NY farms it's not a plesant smell and the farmer has to disk it in the ground or face fines.

Lord if they are doing this now in TV to save money and go green then our tax rate outta go down. Sounds like a HMO adgenda. IMHO

Angie I hope the builders are not hooking up the lawn water to the whole house systems. Could that be the sulfur stink nasty smell some are getting. Or are there different sources for TV?

Our CYV we rented while visiting the water was terrible for our skin. It did not smell or taste bad but our skin started to rash and break out in hives. Itch scale it was terrible we figured we caught cooties from something somewhere.

Got home back on our well water with a softner system and everything cleared up. House sold we move to a very nice upscale rental home in Cortland on city water. Dang it the problems are back.

Had the water tested and first it is very hard 15 grains and second the expert said there is wayyyyyyyyy to much chlorine in the water. That is what is drying our your skin hair etc. Dermatologists confirmed this.

So when we get to the villages a system is going in to remove chlorine and hard water. I do understand for some people they are lucky and it does not bother them.

Sewage on the greens, Trish you now have a new eheeeuuuuu yucky to add to your list.

A couple years back they treated Havana and the odor was horrible. The odor dissipated after it was watered in well. It takes time.

I was a lifeguard at a public park as a young woman, and
 

I know chlorine all too well. My house water is loaded with chlorine and I can't understand why so much. Welcome any thoughts. I've never been
a bottled water drinker, but last week I bought 24 bottles!!! I'm in a CYV
near the Odell gate in Duval. A neighbor said the "shed" in the roundabout
close to us processes water and maybe we are near the chlorinator????!!

The affluent meet the effulant

It was my understanding that there are three levels of water in TV

The lowest level is human waste water that has been treated to an acceptable level for use in irrigating the golf courses. It’s non-potable.

The next level is mostly runoff water collected via storm drains in the streets and other runoff collection systems. It is redistributed via grey colored pipes that are connected only to the irrigation systems of many (but not all) of the homes in TV. It too is non-potable.

The third level is water acquired mostly from aquifers that is treated with chlorine and various filtrations and delivered to all the homes in TV as potable water via white pipes.

EdVin, you got it 100% right. North of 466, though, we do not have the "grey water" for lawns. All of our house water and lawn water is the same good quality. It also is less expensive than the two-tier water South of 466.

From what I understand, it cuts down on using man-made fertilizer. Wow, did that come out right? I mean the fertilizer you have to buy at the garden centers.

Thanks, Bill...very interesting!

It sounds like golf is going to stink at Bonifay.:1rotfl:

Only kidding! I know it's the home irrigation using the surface water that makes the smell Thanks to Bill

We knew you were.... :laugh::laugh::laugh:

when i am down i run at 3am and the smell from the sprinklers in buttonwood is over the top and it took me a week to figure out the smell was the water

Treatment station
 

To the left of the new Binify country club just before the entrance to the new Premier section there appears to be a treatment center for treared waste. If it's true that's what their doing that's where it will come from. As I said earlier thaey were putting some horrible smelling stuff down by tractor the other day. It really smelled like sh..!

from my limited experience with golf...I know that at every hole at least one golfer says "s**t"...maybe they are getting what they asked for?

I sent an email to Janet Tutt, here is the reply from her office.
District Utilities Department provided the following information regarding irrigation:
Home Irrigation:

- North of CR 466, homes are irrigated with potable water.

- South of CR 466, homes are irrigated with non-potable water which is comprised of storm water runoff that is collected in water retention areas and groundwater from the lower Floridan aquifer when storm water supplies are not available.

Golf Course Irrigation:

- North of CR 466, golf courses are irrigated with a combination of reclaimed wastewater, storm water runoff that is collected in water retention areas, and groundwater (some upper Floridan and some Lower Floridan, depending on the specific course). The specific irrigation sources used at each course vary. For example, Glenview GC uses reclaimed wastewater, storm water, and upper Floridan groundwater; Amberwood GC uses storm water and lower Floridan groundwater; and Hacienda Hills GC uses reclaimed wastewater and storm water.

- South of CR 466, all golf courses are irrigated with a combination of reclaimed wastewater and lower Floridan groundwater.

Please note that any reclaimed wastewater that is used for golf course irrigation meets the public access reuse standards established by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

______________________________
My follow up question. Is the reclaimed wastewater from the sewage treatment facility?
Yes, it is reclaimed waster water from the sewage treatment facility. However, as indicated, the reclaimed water is only used if it meets public reuse access standards established by Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The Utilities department has provided the following breakdown between non-potable water and reclaimed water:

Non-Potable water is not for human consumption. It could consist of a combination of lower Floridan aquifer water and storm water runoff, and is chlorinated as it leaves the pumping station.

Reclaimed Water is from the Waste Water Treatment Plant. It is treated and only permitted to irrigate Golf Courses; this water is put through chlorine high disinfection and will not hurt humans if it lands on the skin.

Thanks for the info
 

Bogie thanks for your research and info...........:bigbow:

That facility next to the new CC is a water tank for the potable water pumped from the aquifer. It is similar to the tank that exists off Morse near Bonita and should not create any odor. All treatment of sewage for the new sections south of 466A is handled at the same treatment plant on Buena Vista and Bonita that has been serving the areas south of 466. You may have noted the construction that was going on there in the last year. That was to extend the processing capabilities for the new sections.

I have had a tour of the sewage plant and the water that leaves it is very clear and odorless - even though it is not pure enough to drink. As the VHA link indicates, the odor probably arises from the sulfur content of the water that comes from the aquifer level that is used for irrigation.