Is this our future?

15 years ago

Is anyone else bummed out by the actions of local authorities for immediate $188 fine for hand watering a yard plant more than once a week (and ONLY on the appointed day and time)?

It may be the only way to tell who's cheating or overusing, but geez! Where were these public administrators and politicians when more highrises were allowed because "the area can support it" (can support concrete paveovers and thousands of toilets/showers)? You can get special dispensation for watering in new sod but not new drought-resistant groundcover.

Talk about hurting the economy... who's going to buy plants when you can't keep them alive?

Maybe we'll exchange front yard pride for new fences and back yard gardening.

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Comments (28)

junglegal
15 years ago
Irma,

I read it differently. I think you can hand water landscape plants any day before 8 am or after 6 pm. It reads to me that the once a week rule is for lawns only & for the specified irrigation days ( Sat or Sun).
http://www.stpete.org/water/watering_restrictions.asp
tomncath
15 years ago
Things are surly changing, I've been in PC since 1957, fifth generation Floridian. The reality is, we're going to have to put in more than two rain barrels and they'd better be much larger than 55 gallons...time for the water hog-grasses to go too, no more St. Augustine, back to pasture grasses that survive drought and frost (Bahia), if at all. Xeriscaping here we come, at least there is very little forest left in Pinellas County so when a wildfire does start it's not likely to threaten our property....This eulogy presented by one who bagged a few of the last wild turkeys in Pinellas County in the late sixties, not especially proud of it now but it's representative of the wildlife that used to be here once upon a time, just like the lightening bugs....

Tom
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rowdy13
15 years ago
Hillsborough County has similar restrictions. We're allowed to hand water and use low pressure sprayers and soaker hoses between 6 PM and 8 AM. Unfortunately, I go to work at 3 AM so I'm often preparing for bed soon after 6 PM leaving me no time to water. Also, we're only allowed to wash our car on one of two days per week. And, the wording for every legal opportunity to use water is finished off with some phrasing to the tune of 'in a non-wasteful manner' so they can still fine you if they deem your legal usage as wasteful.

I have no lawn and have never regularly watered what lawn I had before putting in a new septic tank this winter. I have a micro irrigation setup that waters some plants with sprayers and misters while refilling my birdbaths with drippers. The birds appear from every direction to bathe in the spray as soon as I turn on the sprayers. Now that the time has changed and it's still light for a little after 6 PM, I'm able to observe this for a short period on the few days I don't have to go to work the next morning.

I'm frustrated that my water usage for the birds (and some plants) would be less than that used for most lawns yet I would still be the one getting a fine should I choose to attract the birds during off-hours.
skaz421
15 years ago
I'm in Pasco. We're still allowed to use sprinklers on timers one day a week, so the St. Augustine should be OK.

I don't know if we are limited to a certain number of minutes. I have mine timed so that it delivers an inch of water on the entire lawn.

My garden is in the back yard, totally surrounded by a 6 ft. fence. Nobody can see what water I use on it. I'm going to install a drip system, uses very little water.
solstice98
15 years ago
I'm ready to do a drip system, too. Since most of my beds are around the house it would be easy to run. It probably won't happen this spring but it's definitely part of the master plan.
teka2rjleffel
15 years ago
By hand watering, do you mean with a hose or a watering can? I never use my sprinklers. They waste so much water and don't do a great job with my roses that need a good deep watering. I thought we could only water on designated days by any method. Is that wrong or is it different in different counties?
Nancy Leffel
tomncath
15 years ago
I'm in an area with reclaimed water and can still water the lawn three days a week but I've heard from a reputable source that of the seven storage tanks we have for reclaimed water five are dry and the last two are down to 10% capacity...I'm definitely putting in BIG rain barrels so I can water by hose from them, and planing to get rid of as much grass as I can....
c9pilot
15 years ago
Tom, where do you get your rain barrels from?
I'm on reclaimed, so that's bad news.
I was just out fixing sprinkler heads (while quietly swearing out the previous owners who took out all the tropicals and planted St Augustine). Got one side yard almost out (darn those pavers get expensive...), hope to have at least the front lawn OUT before 3x week watering required (I'm still on 1x week, but it's looking pretty shabby in some spots - I'm blaming that on all the broken risers.
new2gardenfl
15 years ago
Actually, this is just the start of our future. Things will get really interesting after the water management districts cap water consumption from 2013 on.

For a couple of years now, all consumptive use permit capacities have been capped based on projected water demands for the year 2013. Once our population exceeds that projected demand, everyone will have to cut back on water use and share that alotted amount of water based on 2013 demands. We are just starting see the beginning of water wars between utilities for water sources.

The Districts are already restricting all new developments by requiring things like water wise landscaping, drip irrigation systems and low flow plumbing fixtures.

How will they restrict water usage in the future? Severe water restrictions with strict fines and high water rates.

Hang on to your wallets ladies and gentlement, it's going to be a dry and bumpy ride!

Here is a link that might be useful: Change is brewing
amberroses
15 years ago
Currently in Pinellas, as I understand it, you can handwater plants any day of the week after 6PM and before 8 AM I believe. You can water lawns one day a week after 6PM or before 8AM. I think they were considering restricting handwatering further but have not done so yet.

Yes, I resent that they would fine me for watering my plants, but allow people to use tons of water on grass. I think only drought tolerant grasses should be planted in Florida. Florida is not really suited for beautiful green lawns. No offense intended to those of you who do have nice lawns.
junglegal
15 years ago
My next door neighbor waters daily, sometimes twice a day. It infuriates me to no end. I grow thousands of plants & use 1/2 of what he does on that little weed patch he calls a lawn.

Why do they continue to allow all the growth in this state without the resources to sustain us? Also, I just read a story where they are trying to do away with the appropriations committee that oversees development in this state. Hmmm, something stinks!
laura1
15 years ago
Why do they continue to allow all the growth in this state without the resources to sustain us?....$$$$ that's why!

Good luck to anyone trying to establish new landscaping even if eventually it will be drough tollerant.

I took all my front yard sod out last year and put in native grass, and a lot of other drought tollerant plants. Luckily they let me water long enough to get them established. I used the sprinklers on these plants yesterday but it had been 3 weeks since the last watering.

Mainly I want to get the Oak tree going to give some shade to plants and house!

I have 3 rain barrels and I use them all the time (almost out of water). I know I use the hose a lot less because of the way I water when using the RB water.
bodiggly
15 years ago
The St. John's Water Management District is getting ready to issue a permit to Niagara Bottled Water to withdraw up to 484,000 gallons of water per day from the aquifer. Lake County was taking legal action, but has dropped the lawsuit because of lack of money.
teeka0801(7aNoVa)
15 years ago
we chose to landscape rather than spend money remodeling the house itself, so if I don't water, it will all go down the drain.

I just got two rain barrels in TODAY, so that will help, but when there is no rain.....then what?

I have no lawn, I hand water my plants and many of them are drought tolerant,but I do have lots of containers. I hope they don't catch me, I am very careful with my water usage.

teeka
tomncath
15 years ago
Tom, where do you get your rain barrels from?

Hey L, good to see you posting again. I have not bought them yet. There are tons of places here that will sell you the converted 55 gallon barrels for $25. Since the roof of an average 1500 sq ft house will produce 200 gallons from a 15 minute rain I want to put in three or four containers that will hold at least 200 gallons. I just started looking but here's a few links I've bookmarked:

One
Two
Three
Four

If anyone else finds a site they find interesting please post it! It's going to cost some bucks but down the road it will be worth it....
Tom
flyingfish2
15 years ago
Tom, have you considered a septic tank buried since you are concerned with neighbor visibility? Know you wish to be gravity fed, but a small 12 volt submersible pump would be all that was needed to get the water back to your low pressure distribution system.

I might consider forming up a cistern and pouring it.

Not sure how much water you need if you use the SWC. Most of what I have is consuming very little water except for hungary tomatoes :>)
coffeemom
15 years ago
And yet water bottlers have free access to our water.
(head scratching here)

Here is a link that might be useful: Public spigot open for water bottlers
cjc45
15 years ago
Yes, this IS our future. Two summers ago in Georgia we couldn't water at all and the local nursery chain went bankrupt. Last summer before we moved back to Florida we could water three times a week for 25 minutes using one hand-held hose with an automatic shut off. By the way, the City of Mount Dora has 55 gallon rain barrels for $30. They already have the spigot installed and the intake hole drilled in the top. If you live in the city limits they'll deliver free and help you set it up if necessary. If you attend one of the workshops, they even provide paint and stencils so you can decorate it.
tomncath
15 years ago
Tom, have you considered a septic tank buried....

Great idea Bernie but I'm not sure where I'd put it, you'll know what I'm talking about when you come up to see my place. If you have the room for a cistern that would definitely be the way to go!

And yet water bottlers have free access to our water.
(head scratching here)

What about the restaurants? Commercial facilities get a MUCH LOWER water rate than residential facilities do. Does that make sense?

...City of Mount Dora has 55 gallon rain barrels for $30

Most County Extension offices offer them, and workshops on making them.
fawnridge (Ricky)
15 years ago
I just don't understand the fuss. Thanks to Global Warming, most of Florida will be underwater soon as the polar ice caps melt and the oceans rise. What you should be doing is planting salt tolerant flora and building arks.
garyfla_gw
15 years ago
Hi
I've,used a stacked 4x4 box lined with a fiberglass tarp for rain storage for many years . Cost around 300 bucks and holds 1200 gallons of water.
I originally built it for water quality for the tropical plants but has obviously become valuable for quantity now as well. Couldn't resist turing it into a water garden so can't draw it dry nor allow the water level to drop too low particularly in winter..
I added heat two years ago as an experimental way to heat the shadehouse and of course this is at least a semi hydroponic system as well as a reservoir for the waterfall.
Rain barrels were never enough water for me and took up too much room. gary
SaintPFLA
15 years ago
Absolutely infuriating that we are selling water rights to bottling companies with the current challenges we face as a state.

Can you have a rain barrel is you don't have gutters? I have a Florida bungalow house and it doesn't have gutters....is it possible to take advantage of the rain run off?
junglegal
15 years ago
saintpfla,

I am in the same boat, no gutters on my bungalow. I do have a dead valley but i am afraid the water gushing out would be hard to harness. I thought maybe a rain chain which runs into a rain barrel may work.
karen_florida
15 years ago
I know this is a little goofy and off-topic, but I just have to mention it because this one (actually these three things) have been bugging me for years.

We hear dire warnings about the fresh water runoff from the melting ice shelfs and glaciers in the North Atlantic; terrible because it will do two things: raise sea levels, and shut down the salt-driven Global Ocean Conveyor current (the mother of the Gulf Stream) because the water at it's start in the North Atlantic will lose the saltiness that makes it sink and start the conveyor.

And we hear dire warnings about droughts; droughts just everywhere, and bound to get worse.

And here's the third one: lots of dire warnings about building desalinization plants for fresh water in Florida - they say we can't do THAT because all that waste salt from the plants would contaminate our soils.

With me so far? Now here's the kicker: NOBODY in Florida, NOBODY in the whole U.S., and as far as I know NOBODY in the whole world is trying to HARVEST all that glacial runoff before it reaches the sea. Or trying to ADD the waste salt from desalinization plants to the North Atlantic Conveyor headwaters.

The land is crying out for water, and they just let it run into the sea. The sea is crying out for salt, and they just plow it into the ground.

I know that's WAY, WAY over-simplifying a complex problem; but still doesn't it seem like we could devote a few of our million oil tankers to carrying water here and salt back instead? It just bugs me that no country even gives it a try.
new2gardenfl
15 years ago
you asked........

1. Who owns the polar ice caps (international water rights)?? Can we rightfully harvest the water without interference from other countries?

2. How would you harvest and transport the ice cost effectively? In the SJRWMD area, the DAILY water demand in 2000 was 1.49 billion gallons of water per day.

3. Who will pay for it? Water systems are run by local governments and private utilities and they are not equipped financially to undertake such a project.

4. If the federal government pays for it, who get's the water? yikes!

I could go on and on. LOL

I hope this is helpful!

Here is a link that might be useful: SJRWMD Water Demand
gardengrl
15 years ago
For rain barrels, I highly recommend Gardner's Supply Co.

DH and I have 2 of their 75 gal. barrels that are a
godsend. One of them we actually got for free as the one we ordered was damaged when we got it. They replaced it with a new one without asking to return the damaged one and even gave us instructions on how to fix it!!! Their customer service is outstanding.

Both barrels are half empty now, but we've never run completely dry (knock on wood) in the years we've had them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardner's Supply Co.
wanna_run_faster
15 years ago
Speaking of rain barrels, I really want a one or two and was thinking about buying some 'food grade' recycled barrels off someone on craigslist. Well, I work next door to a dialysis center and once a week a truck pulls up, whips out a few of those white or blue barrels and runs one tube into the dialysis center and the other into the truck. It smells absolutely gross. The barrels are usually labeled "biological waste" but I've seen ones labeled "citric" something.

I still want a rain barrel but believe me the only way I am actually going to get one is if it is brand new. I don't care if I have to pay 4x as much, there is no way I am even going to risk bringing one of those barrels into my yard! Yuck!

If anyone knows a reliable source for a new never used rain barrel let me know!
florah
15 years ago
As to Niagara bottled water, it may show up with the Niagara brand name on the bottle or with a private label. Its newest facility is in Lake County.

Maybe we need a grassroots movement not to buy single serve bottled water. I have stopped buying it before I even knew it was to be taken out of my aquifer.

Is this our future?

Comments (28)

junglegal

tomncath

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