U.S. Water News Online
LARGO, Fla. -- Want lower water bills without giving up that lush green lawn? In Largo the answer could be reclaimed water.
City officials are polishing a master plan that seeks to connect every single-family home in Largo by 2014. The plan awaits final approval by the commission, but could begin later this year.
Homeowners would be asked to sign a petition in their neighborhood agreeing to pay a one-time user fee of $125 per household. Officials say that fee, along with increases in sewer rates, will cover the 12-year project's tab of $50-million.
Residents could save buckets of cash using the service over time, the city says. Once hooked up, customers have access to an unlimited supply of reclaimed water for irrigation, paying only the current flat rate of $10 per month. All that in an area where drinking water continues to be scarce.
"Depending on how much you water, you could cut water bills by almost a third," said City Manager Steve Stanton. "But the issue is to save potable water."
Largo has offered reclaimed water since the early 1980s but has struggled selling communities on the concept. Currently the city has spent nearly $22-million with only about 1,200 customers.
Mike Staffopoulos, an engineer in the city's public works department, said the new plan would put the heavy lifting on the legs of Largo officials.
"The last strategy relied on the residents to fill out their own petitions and submit them to the city," Staffopoulos said. "This process will be a city-driven petition, going out to specific neighborhoods (at a time)."
And they have established a system for easy distribution, he says. His office recently divided the city's 10,500 single-family homes into 70 neighborhoods and ranked them based on four factors:
If approved, the city would distribute petitions to six neighborhoods per year. Each homeowner would have 60 days to return the petitions to the city. A neighborhood would get the water if 60 percent of its residents sign up.
"If they are unable to get the signatures, or uninterested, they fall off the list," Stanton said.
Staffopoulos said a public workshop to answer questions and explain the plan should be scheduled in the next two months. He hopes people come with interest.
"We are doing more of the legwork up front, to expand the system in a very rational and cost-effective manner," he said.
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