Greco was easily the biggest water consumer but hardly the only one using far more than the average household's 7,500 gallons a month. City Council member Linda Saul-Sena's family of four used an average of 38,375 gallons each month at their large Davis Islands home. She did not return telephone calls for comment Tuesday. Kleman averaged 29,250 gallons a month at his South Tampa home, four times the citywide average. He said his bill for a two-month period last spring spiked because his wife left a garden hose on and it ran for several days when they left town.
Some officials are water misers, using less than the city average.
City Council Chairman Charlie Miranda began limiting his watering to once a week a month ago and often let the lawn of his West Tampa home survive on whatever rain fell. Miranda irrigates the yard on the side of the house with a few weeds, he says, but the rest is nothing but dirt. But I'm not eating grass, and I've got to drink the water. Residents can use as much water on lawns and plants as they want, provided they irrigate only during permitted days and hours. Odd addresses can water on Sundays, even addresses on Tuesdays.