[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by billdozer

[By raising the cost of water to all customers, how is the increased bill going to help the Aquifer?

If the increase in cost was successful in encouraging everyone to reduce their water usage then less water would need to be pumped out of the aquifer on a daily basis.

(since the increase in my bill is about $2 and I need a calculator to find it I doubt it will affect my usage)

[Ptmcbriz]

Originally Posted by billdozer

[By raising the cost of water to all customers, how is the increased bill going to help the Aquifer?

I’m guessing the higher cost will encourage people to use less water to keep their costs down. Anytime you have an increased cost on anything , people tend to pull back to control their budget.

[HomerSimpson]

Originally Posted by charlie1

I saw that the water companies are allowed to add an additional surcharge for water usage during the declared drought period. But I did not see any penalty for not following the new water rules nor did I see any enforcement mentioned other than the Community Watch supposedly is on the lookout for violators? (seem out of scope for Community Watch documented duties) Has anyone seen anything PUBLISHED by any government agency on the penalties for not following the new rules? Has anyone seen anything DOCUMENTED by any government agency on the enforcement? Are these rules really just voluntary? If you have, please post the source. Thanks

I wouldn't consider it a penalty charge, but my last bill had the potable water double-taxed and the irrigation water taxed for the first time (plus a penny). I wrote them about it but got no reply. I am curious if anybody else noticed a change in the calculations.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by USOTR

We all need to get together and file one. If they can not provide a very basic service like water to the current Florida Residence, they need to stop all new building. At least until they can build de salt plants to handle the short falls.

Who is they?

[elevatorman]

Originally Posted by charlie1

I saw that the water companies are allowed to add an additional surcharge for water usage during the declared drought period. But I did not see any penalty for not following the new water rules nor did I see any enforcement mentioned other than the Community Watch supposedly is on the lookout for violators? (seem out of scope for Community Watch documented duties) Has anyone seen anything PUBLISHED by any government agency on the penalties for not following the new rules? Has anyone seen anything DOCUMENTED by any government agency on the enforcement? Are these rules really just voluntary? If you have, please post the source. Thanks

The Southwest Water Management District sets the rules. District Declares Modified Phase III Water Shortage | WaterMatters.org They are a government agency. The Governing Board of the District is the agency head. As set forth in Section 373.073, F.S., Board members are appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate, and serve staggered four-year terms.
On their site it says that enforcement is handled by the District Utilities. On this page District Water Restrictions | WaterMatters.org
under the heading Conservation and Enforcement they put the enforcement duties on the water utility. There is a PDF in that section that explains enforcement responsibilities.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Ptmcbriz

My neighbor got caught hand watering some new grass plugs in the front yard. Can’t hand water grass and can’t water the grass outside your designated day unless you’ve replaced at least 50% of your grass…yes the grass plugs will die. Water official said no exceptions and if caught again will write up a citation and be fined.

Got caught by who?
Water official. State, county, district ?

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by HomerSimpson

I wouldn't consider it a penalty charge, but my last bill had the potable water double-taxed and the irrigation water taxed for the first time (plus a penny). I wrote them about it but got no reply. I am curious if anybody else noticed a change in the calculations.

In NSCUDD/CSU my water usage has always been taxed.

In my last bill, the math was not correct so I suspected the reason was the surcharge. I took my water usage multiplied by the billing rate then multiplied again by 1.05 for the surcharge to get the total listed on my bill. The tax amount was correct for that new amount.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Ptmcbriz

My neighbor got caught hand watering some new grass plugs in the front yard. Can’t hand water grass and can’t water the grass outside your designated day unless you’ve replaced at least 50% of your grass…yes the grass plugs will die. Water official said no exceptions and if caught again will write up a citation and be fined.

How new is new?

The website for the SouthWest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) is wattermatters.org.

The website for the Villages Districts is districtgov.org.

- SWFWMD sets out some restrictions but says to refer to your city or county regulations first.
- The Villages Districts copy most of the SWFWMD restrictions and then points to WatterMatters.org (the SWFWMD site) for certain exemptions such as new plant material

The exemptions for new plant material on the SWFWMD website are:

New Lawns and Plants

• - New lawns and plants have a 60-day establishment period. On
  days 1-30, new lawns and plants may be watered any day of the
  week.
• - During days 31-60, new lawns and plants may be watered three
  days during the week. The user must maintain a written schedule
  of establishment period watering. Even-numbered addresses may
  water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Odd-numbered
  addresses may be watered on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

The Villages Districts refer to SWFWMD for new lawn exemptions. SWFWMD is concerned about how long ago a new lawn was put in place but doesn't mention any percentage of the lawn that has to be new.

One could argue that your neighbor wasn't watering his entire yard which consisted of less than 50% new plugs and more than 50% of the water was falling on established grass. Rather, he was hand watering in such a way that 100% of the water was being used for the new portion of the lawn. If he was also following the SWFWMD guidelines then he might have a pretty good argument. Of course, he would run the risk of those listening to the argument being unable to understand it or not caring at all.

[CybrSage]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

They can enforce by checking your water bill.

They need a subpoena to obtain a water bill. They need probable cause for that.

[CybrSage]

Originally Posted by billdozer

[By raising the cost of water to all customers, how is the increased bill going to help the Aquifer?

The same way taxes on cigarettes reduced smoking.

[CybrSage]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Who is they?

They are those who are not we.



Just another person complaining the Villages was just right after their house is built but way too large when building other people's houses.

[charlie1]

The Villages District 1 commissioners voted to cut watering by 10% to save water. Other District have, to my knowledge, not responded with a plan to cut their use of water? By my calculations, this is not the same as homeowners only allowed to water once weekly during 4 hour time slots when they were allowed to run irrigation 2 times a week.

Responsibilities on Watermatters.org also specify that the Water utilities have to publish enforcement methods. Has anyone seen anything from the water utilities that service The Villages.

Also read on watermatters.com the responsibilities. I noted this - "The restrictions apply to residents on private wells however, reclaimed water is only subject to voluntary watering hours, unless restricted by the local government or utility." Most of The Villager's homes use reclaimed water! This water management declaration was not thought out! They need to have a way to insure compliance and enforcement to be successful!

[Marathon Man]

Originally Posted by USOTR

We all need to get together and file one. If they can not provide a very basic service like water to the current Florida Residence, they need to stop all new building. At least until they can build de salt plants to handle the short falls.

Get right on that. I'm sure others will follow your lead.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by CybrSage

They need a subpoena to obtain a water bill. They need probable cause for that.

"They" are the utility company that collects meter information and creates your water bill. They don't need probably cause or a subpoena to obtain a water bill, you pay them to generate the bill and give a copy to you.

But as I noted before, my water bill contains no information on the dates or times that my irrigation was running.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by charlie1

The Villages District 1 commissioners voted to cut watering by 10% to save water. Other District have, to my knowledge, not responded with a plan to cut their use of water? By my calculations, this is not the same as homeowners only allowed to water once weekly during 4 hour time slots when they were allowed to run irrigation 2 times a week.

Responsibilities on Watermatters.org also specify that the Water utilities have to publish enforcement methods. Has anyone seen anything from the water utilities that service The Villages.

Also read on watermatters.com the responsibilities. I noted this - "The restrictions apply to residents on private wells however, reclaimed water is only subject to voluntary watering hours, unless restricted by the local government or utility." Most of The Villager's homes use reclaimed water! This water management declaration was not thought out! They need to have a way to insure compliance and enforcement to be successful!

According to the utility that provides our water, most of the Villages homes DO NOT USE RECLAIMED WATER! NONE of the Villages homes north of 44 have access to reclaimed water. Homes south of 44 may have reclaimed water mixed with runoff water and aquifer water but not 100% reclaimed water.

The Villages water district Phase III restrictions can be found on districtgov.org.