[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Laker14

Maybe their heirs (and ours) will be smart enough to realize that we don't need our lawns to look like a fairway at Augusta National.

I agree that there is a "fetish" about front lawns looking perfect here. It probably comes from those from "up north" that get used to the easy-to- look-good soft grasses that grow in the north. Most people in The Villages NEVER use their front yard for anything. Why not allow (and encourage) people to have rock gardens for 50% of their yard. That way the rain water gets down to the aquifer with less evaporation and use by the grass.
...........Also, the golf courses spray water for great distances and that has to produce a lot of evaporation. Maybe the golf courses should be shorter and more par 3s take their place.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by kkingston57

As Artie Johnson used to say "Verrrry Interesting" In meantime, TV does not like zeriscaping and/or fake grass.

Lots of weird situations happen in The Villages. For example why is it necessary to plant flowers on the roundabouts and then a couple times per year, tear out the old flowers and plant new ones. Drivers eyes are NOT supposed to be concentrated on flowers (as they wreck). Why NOT plant some permanent plants and leave them there?

[Randall55]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Lots of weird situations happen in The Villages. For example why is it necessary to plant flowers on the roundabouts and then a couple times per year, tear out the old flowers and plant new ones. Drivers eyes are NOT supposed to be concentrated on flowers (as they wreck). Why NOT plant some permanent plants and leave them there?

That would not resolve a thing. Workers would be required to weed, fertilize, trim, remove sickly and replant with new on a regular basis. I am guessing the program they have implemented is cheaper in the long run.

Cities throughout Florida have always placed restrictions on watering during times of little rain or drought. After a rainy season, the restrictions get lifted. It has been this way for decades.

The Villages population is small compared to cities like Miami and Jacksonville. Restrictions are tougher in these larger cities when a drought persists.

[Veiragirl]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

No problem, the water level in the aquifer can easily be replenished by building a crap load of more houses and a whole bunch more of the necessary commercial development to support the growth.

Amen! Anyplace south of 44 is NOTHING like living here .

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Veiragirl

Amen! Anyplace south of 44 is NOTHING like living here .

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Randall55

That would not resolve a thing. Workers would be required to weed, fertilize, trim, remove sickly and replant with new on a regular basis. I am guessing the program they have implemented is cheaper in the long run.

Cities throughout Florida have always placed restrictions on watering during times of little rain or drought. After a rainy season, the restrictions get lifted. It has been this way for decades.

The Villages population is small compared to cities like Miami and Jacksonville. Restrictions are tougher in these larger cities when a drought persists.

There are plants that need no regular fertilizing. There are a lot of Florida-friendly TOUGH plants that need ZERO attention. It is just a choice that is made to look pretty back in the day when it was felt that "PRETTY" increased home sales. Also, early on in Village History, the population density was too low to affect the water table.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

No problem, the water level in the aquifer can easily be replenished by building a crap load of more houses and a whole bunch more of the necessary commercial development to support the growth.

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

I agree, but the more environmentally conscious among us (I state it circumspectly) are already over THAT idea like flies on dung. Their major complaint is that by discharging water heavier on salt back into the oceans after separating out fresh water (which is how it is done) it changes the salinity of the seawater at the point of discharge, thus conceivably harming ocean plant/animal life. I'm not sure if there is any credible research done on this topic, but that is the argument. It is not new technology, by the way: Titanic had desalination equipment to produce fresh water for the ship. And anyone who has taken a cruise on any of the larger cruise ship knows that with their desalination equipment, they produce enough fresh water to not only assure that the cruisers have all the water they want but also enough to supply the fun and games aboard. The Flow Rider on RCCL ships for example needs 30,000 gallons of fresh water in order to operate.

But in reality this agonizing over this perceived water shortage is merely another sky-is-falling histrionic. Lake mead, for example, received plenty of attention on the part of the environmentally conscious after the water level sank over several years to what were termed dangerous levels. But after 2021 Mama Nature took over, replenishing the lake water by natural means. An article in Newsweek (12/8/23) states, in part: "Lake Mead, which is in Nevada and Arizona, reached drastically low levels last summer after years of drought, but water levels have since started to recover because of above-average precipitation and snowpack that have melted this summer. Stunning photos comparing this year's levels to those of 2022 have abounded on social media, including how the rising levels again submerged a previously sunken boat that was revealed during the drought.

The lake has blown past 2022 water levels by more than 20 feet, and last Saturday, Lake Mead reached another milestone when it surpassed 2021 levels for the first time this year, a feat AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Houk previously told Newsweek was unlikely to happen given forecast trends."

This is why I don't give the gloom-and-gloomers much attention. Hysteria makes for poor science.

That will change. Snow has been very sparse this winter and forecasts are not optimistic.

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Lots of weird situations happen in The Villages. For example why is it necessary to plant flowers on the roundabouts and then a couple times per year, tear out the old flowers and plant new ones. Drivers eyes are NOT supposed to be concentrated on flowers (as they wreck). Why NOT plant some permanent plants and leave them there?

To answer your last ?. that makes too much sense. They could plant loriope(sp) in those places. Need small amounts of water, last forever, cold and heat resistant.

[Randall55]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

There are plants that need no regular fertilizing. There are a lot of Florida-friendly TOUGH plants that need ZERO attention. It is just a choice that is made to look pretty back in the day when it was felt that "PRETTY" increased home sales. Also, early on in Village History, the population density was too low to affect the water table.

Okay! I agree on the plants. But, it does not matter where you live in Florida. When there is little rain or drought, the ENTIRE state follows water restrictions. Again, it has been like this for decades.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

I agree, but the more environmentally conscious among us (I state it circumspectly) are already over THAT idea like flies on dung. Their major complaint is that by discharging water heavier on salt back into the oceans after separating out fresh water (which is how it is done) it changes the salinity of the seawater at the point of discharge, thus conceivably harming ocean plant/animal life. I'm not sure if there is any credible research done on this topic, but that is the argument. It is not new technology, by the way: Titanic had desalination equipment to produce fresh water for the ship. And anyone who has taken a cruise on any of the larger cruise ship knows that with their desalination equipment, they produce enough fresh water to not only assure that the cruisers have all the water they want but also enough to supply the fun and games aboard. The Flow Rider on RCCL ships for example needs 30,000 gallons of fresh water in order to operate.

But in reality this agonizing over this perceived water shortage is merely another sky-is-falling histrionic. Lake mead, for example, received plenty of attention on the part of the environmentally conscious after the water level sank over several years to what were termed dangerous levels. But after 2021 Mama Nature took over, replenishing the lake water by natural means. An article in Newsweek (12/8/23) states, in part: "Lake Mead, which is in Nevada and Arizona, reached drastically low levels last summer after years of drought, but water levels have since started to recover because of above-average precipitation and snowpack that have melted this summer. Stunning photos comparing this year's levels to those of 2022 have abounded on social media, including how the rising levels again submerged a previously sunken boat that was revealed during the drought.

The lake has blown past 2022 water levels by more than 20 feet, and last Saturday, Lake Mead reached another milestone when it surpassed 2021 levels for the first time this year, a feat AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Houk previously told Newsweek was unlikely to happen given forecast trends."

This is why I don't give the gloom-and-gloomers much attention. Hysteria makes for poor science.

In the response - in 2023 water levels"started to recover because of ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION and snow pack that MELTED this summer". I will NOT dispute that this happened, however I would like to mention the WHY behind this happening. The last 7 or 8 years have been the WARMEST in recorded history and climate scientists are worried that the HEAT is increasing. That EXPLAINS WHY the snow pack melted. And average precipitation worldwide in bound to increase because WARM AIR holds more MOISTURE.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Randall55

Okay! I agree on the plants. But, it does not matter where you live in Florida. When there is little rain or drought, the ENTIRE state follows water restrictions. Again, it has been like this for decades.

OK, but what needs to be factored in is that for the last 8 years worldwide the Earth is HEATING up. Climate scientists are worried. That fact can be easily Googled.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

In the response - in 2023 water levels"started to recover because of ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION and snow pack that MELTED this summer". I will NOT dispute that this happened, however I would like to mention the WHY behind this happening. The last 7 or 8 years have been the WARMEST in recorded history and climate scientists are worried that the HEAT is increasing. That EXPLAINS WHY the snow pack melted. And average precipitation worldwide in bound to increase because WARM AIR holds more MOISTURE.

Interesting!

If true, then the logical conclusion is that warm(er) weather (AKA "global warming") is necessary to keep Lake Mead's water levels up.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Interesting!

If true, then the logical conclusion is that warm(er) weather (AKA "global warming") is necessary to keep Lake Mead's water levels up.

Everything has positives and negatives. I guess that boaters and water skiers in Lake Mead will be happy, but the snow skiers - not so much. The big picture is that the US is PRETENDING that the Earth is NOT heating up. We can tell that because GM and Ford are cutting back on producing E-Vehicles because demand is nosing DOWN. This makes since from their point of view, but from the point of view of the greater good for the US and world's people .........this is VERY BAD.
..........That is SOME SERIOUS RELATIVITY, maybe not quite up to the Einstein relativity, but BAD nonetheless.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

Don’t forget the bottle water factory that pumps thousands gallons a day that was approved 3 or 4 years ago?

Not sure if I’m for or against that? Who benefits from the water being sold to the bottling company? What entity actually owns the water? Is it Sumter county? If so, do they use the proceeds to keep residents water rates and/or property taxes lower? Inquiring minds want to know?