Officials there wrote Swiftmud Thursday saying they support a requirement to achieve a 5 percent reduction in water use, but oppose a mandatory rate increase on their customers, who already pay the steepest water bills in the area. Resolution could come Tuesday, when Swiftmud is scheduled to debate the proposed emergency order. Along with higher rates, its provisions include forcing local governments to justify new developments that will use water, enforcing watering restrictions around the clock and waiving landscaping requirements that lead to more water use. Pinellas County says Swiftmud should simply allow Tampa Bay Water to exceed the pumping limits. To do otherwise is to punish citizens for a problem they didn't cause, said Pinellas Commissioner Susan Latvala.
People are aware of the drought.
They're being conservation-minded. Swiftmud spokesman Michael Molligan dismissed Pinellas' suggestion that the order could endanger regional water cooperation. The order is needed to reduce water use, Molligan said. Pumping too much water from the ground dries up wetlands and lakes. The strongest calls for less pumping have come from Pasco, the source of most of the groundwater.