Paying through the Tap

Water is the common denominating factor in Southwest Florida. It is a natural attraction, providing residents and visitors alike with outlets for boating, fishing, swimming and miles of beaches thanks to the Gulf of Mexico, Caloosahatchee River and Intracoastal Waterway.

But in an area surrounded by so much water, it is the one thing that has become a critical factor to sustaining the local way of life and the ecosystems. It has become the major focus for area residents and agencies like the South Florida Water Management District in Southwest Florida. "We have enough water," says Clarence Tears, SFWMD Big Cypress Basin Director in Naples, "the question is, how much do we want to pay for it?"

In the early days of mass development, water was more of an obstacle than a benefit. "Traditionally, water has been the enemy," explains Kurt Harclerode, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District. "We have drained areas for things like building and as a result, changed ecosystems and limited water supply areas," he says.

But now, Southwest Florida may have become a victim of its own success in draining aquifers -- underground porous rock where natural water is held -- to provide more land for development and infrastructure. And in the process, present and future residents face limited remaining cheap water supplies and altered area ecosystems.

Armed with a present-day understanding of water's importance, the South Florida Water Management District is keeping a close eye on consumption while looking into and testing alternative water supply methods and new technologies for millions of clients, who range from residents to urban developers and agricultural businesses. "We need to look at alternative water supplies for the sustainability of Southwest Florida," says Tears.

The South Florida Water Management District spans 16 counties with about six million residents. Its predecessor, the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District, was created by an act of the Florida Legislature in 1949 to protect residents from flooding. Today, it also provides water supply protection to residents living in urban, coastal and agricultural areas. The district operates and maintains some 1,800 miles of canals and levees, 25 major pumping stations, and 200 larger and 2,000 smaller water control structures.

One of the greatest challenges facing the district is how to accommodate urban expansion, large areas of agricultural land and water conservation areas during rainy and dry seasons. "South Florida is a land of extremes, with a drought-prone dry season and a flood-prone rainy season," notes Harclerode.

Balancing those seasons to ensure there is enough water has included the use of aquifers, storm water drainage and reclamation, waste water treatment, reverse osmosis and in some extreme cases, de-salinization. The use of these processes is based on factors like land availability, rainfall and the amount of salt in the water. Then there's the cost of treatment and its by-products.

"I always tell folks there are three type of water: free, cheap and expensive. The free is gone - used by our ancestors. The cheap is almost gone and the expensive is yet to come because of the technology involved in providing potable water," states Tears.

What does it all mean? There are qualities of water based on its storage and source. For example, underground rocks known as aquifers store rainfall which is then retrieved as needed, treated to become clean, or "potable," and delivered for drinking water supplies. Aquifers require plenty of land and lots of rainfall. Southwest Florida averages 55 inches of rain per year. But the time it takes to reach the aquifer - known as recharging - determines how much water is available.

"People think because it rains, the aquifers are recharged and there is plenty of drinking water," says Harclerode. "That is a misconception. In fact, the water we currently use is water that has been in the aquifer for centuries. The time it takes to sink in and fill the aquifer is enormous," he adds.

But pulling from that underground water system continues at increased rates. The result is that resources such as the Tamiami Aquifer, which supplies water to Naples, have been drained to critically low levels. "The demand is high thanks to population growth, tourism and encroaching development in the area," explains Tears. He also notes that thousands of gallons of water per day are lost to seepage into the Gulf.

Another source for water is storm drainage, which can be stored in reservoirs, treated and used for such non-essential functions as landscaping. The treatment of reclaimed water -- also called duel-distribution -- makes non-potable water that can be used on golf courses and lawncare for homes in areas like Cape Coral. This is accomplished by running two lines into a meter in the home. One size pipe furnishes potable water while the other pipe sends treated wastewater to the sprinkler systems.

Two of the more expensive treatments are reverse osmosis and de-salinization. Both remove salt from water, but de-salinization takes water from the Gulf of Mexico at a much higher cost because of the enormous salt content levels to be processed. Reverse osmosis draws from deeper below-ground aquifers that are salty but are not actual seawater. Places like Sanibel, Marco Island and Pine Island now use reverse osmosis. "With new aquifers and wells, we have to drill a lot deeper where the water quality isn't as good, and therefore we have to spend more money to process it so it will become potable," explains Tears.

He also notes that because of development for new communities, new wells have to be spread out so they don't affect each other. New sites are costly. "Everything has a cost associated to it," he adds.

What does it all mean for area businesses? Most golf courses in Lee and Collier Counties rely on the wastewater treatment option, but there are waiting lists for some courses to use that technology. The use of effluence is based on population around the golf courses. Therefore, if there aren't enough residents to produce the wastewater, then more expensive watering alternatives must be used.

Other water-intensive businesses have learned to adapt, as well. Car washes in general recycle their water through a series of pipes and infiltration, and many area landscapers are educating their customers about planting drought-resistant plants and the xeriscape theory.

But large commercial nurseries like Yoder Brothers in Alva may have challenges ahead. Currently, according to Yoder Facilites and Engineering Manager Dave Robinson, the nursery pumps and treats water from the Caloosahatchee River. The company is keeping a close eye on the US. Army Corps of Engineers Restudy project submitted to the state legislature this summer.

The Restudy will seek to restore the Everglades and Florida