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Tampa council members consider expansion of reclaimed water

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By LINDSAY PETERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 23, 2009

TAMPA - The Tampa City Council is considering raising water rates for heavy users in South Tampa to get them to either cut back or irrigate their lawns with reclaimed water.

It's part of a proposed $340 million effort to get more Tampa residents to use reclaimed water.

The new billing system would create two new levels of water use for households in areas with reclaimed water service. Now the highest possible rate is $5.09 and it applies to people who use more than 34,000 gallons per month.

The new method would charge a maximum of $10.15 to people who use between 56,100 gallons and 74,000 gallons per month and $15.22 to people who use more than that.

But at a workshop this morning, Councilwoman Mary Mulhern questioned how effective that would be, because the heavy users represent only 1 percent of the total. "We really need to share the pain" to encourage as many people as possible to switch to reclaimed water.

Reclaimed water is available to more than 8,000 households in Hyde Park, Davis Islands and Beach Park, but only 3,600 are using it. In addition to creating new billing levels, the city's proposal includes requiring every household in the reclaimed service area to get hooked up by Dec. 1 or have the city disconnect or lock their irrigation water meters.

Those who are worried about the salt in the reclaimed water and its effect on certain plants and trees would be allowed to irrigate with drinking water as long as they used only a hand-held hose.

In five years, the city wants to extend reclaimed water service to an additional 9,000 households in the Bayshore, Ballast Point and North Hyde Park areas.

Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834.

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