January 15, 1990

Water Crisis, Hard Decisions

Folks in Sarasota County are starting to get thirsty and cast covetous eyes on the water supply of their neighbors in adjacent counties. This makes Charlotte County residents a bit nervous over the possibility of a “water war.”

The City of Sarasota has grown so rapidly, its present water supply has reached capacity. A group of citizens calling itself the Growth-resistant and Environmental Organization is circulating a petition for a referendum on a two-year building ban.

County officials, developers and contractors oppose the drastic action. They fear it will throw the area into a severe economic slump.

GEO foresees no difficulty in obtaining the 8,163 valid signatures necessary to get its moratorium proposal on the September 4, ballot.

“I think it’s going to be a ground swell, populist revolt,” says GEO President Jim Ford. “If we don’t do something, we’re not going to like it here.”

The Manasota-Peace River Regional Water Supply Authority proposed in April 1988, that the water systems of Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto and Charlotte counties be inter-connected.

The stated purpose at that time was to enable the transfer of potable water in the event of emergencies. A $20,000 feasibility study was suggested, but nothing was done.

Now, a $30,000 study is sought for construction of a $4 million pipeline linking Sarasota’s water system to the General Development Utility water network of Port Charlotte, and permanent connection to the Manatee system.

Manatee County Commissioner Ed Chance is suspicious. He feels Sarasota County is more interested in tapping into the other water systems for an ongoing supply rather than helping its neighbors in an infrequent emergency.

Though Manatee and DeSoto have adequate supplies of water, Charlotte County is nearing the practical limit of its current sources.

The State Department of Natural Resources says it will not allow any more water to be withdrawn from the Peace and Myakka Rivers. Many individual wells become brackish during drought periods.

Punta Gorda, which draws its water from a reservoir on Shell Creek, has a surplus. However, it is not a member of the inter-county water authority and expanded its water system last year to provide for its own growth.

To make the inter-county emergency system workable, Punta Gorda’s water lines would need to be tied in.

The plight of Sarasota is a warning of more serious problems ahead. The desire of people in cold climates to live in sunny Florida appears unquenchable. Yet, water here is scarce. When the kitchen faucets and bathroom toilets run dry, modern civilization collapses.

The city of Sanibel faced up to this problem seven years ago by imposing an absolute limit on homes and stores it would allow on the island. This was challenged in the courts, but upheld.

The right of a property owner to build has been sacrosanct since colonial days. However, no law can command water to flow from a dry pipe.

Ironically, there is no shortage of water in Florida - just a reluctance to pay for what is necessary to get it. Sanibel alleviated its water shortage for existing homes by installing a plant that distills potable water from the sea – at great cost

Areas without a natural source of water - such as Bermuda - manage on vast cisterns that catch and store rainfall.

Cape Coral has just adopted a plan to install a dual water system whereby treated sewage effluent is piped back for watering lawns, shrubbery, parks and golf courses. Punta Gorda has regulations in place to require this of future “planned unit developments.”

The interconnection planned for the M-PR water region has merit if – big if – it is confined to genuine emergencies and if the other partners have water to spare temporarily.

Creating a giant four-county system to save a city that already is too big simply enlarges the basic problem.

The long-range answer to our water crisis is some, or all, of the solutions outlined above - not throwing one’s self on the mercy of others. Crises need hard decisions, and the time has come to make them.

By Lindsey Wilger Williams, retired newspaper publisher and syndicated columnist