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Pasco Reclaimed Water System Growing To Meet Demand

Pasco County Reuse Coordinator Pamela Wright points to projects for reclaimed water in Pasco County.

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: December 22, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - The purple pipes extending across Pasco County are part of the county's investment in the future.

"Once all our projects are done, we're going to be the biggest reclaimed water provider in the state," says Pam Wright, reuse coordinator for Pasco County Utilities.

The county department calls its reclaimed waste-water project Purple Rain, a name arising from the state Department of Environment Protection's mandate to use purple pipes to distribute reclaimed water.

Color coded

The purple color helps ensure crews looking to tap into pipes carrying drinking water don't connect with reclaimed water pipes instead.

According to Wright, the county has projects down the line that will provide reclaimed water for use in lawn and landscape irrigation to more than 30,000 customers.

Projects include construction of three reservoirs with a combined storage capacity of 900 million gallons and improved metering and control systems.

Even before the projects are finished, the county's reclaimed water program has chalked up some notable achievements.

"Just in Pasco, it saves 6 billion gallons of drinking water a year," Wright notes.

Reclaimed water comes from domestic waste water that has undergone extensive treatment to remove harmful contaminants.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection requires it to meet potable water quality standards.

According to the Southwest Florida Water Management District, permitted uses of reclaimed water include residential and commercial irrigation, aquifer recharge, power generation and natural system restoration.

It is not safe for drinking, watering edible vegetables, swimming and washing vehicles.

In Pasco County, except for a small amount diverted to the cooling tower at the Pasco County Resource Recovery Facility, where garbage is burned to generate electricity, all reclaimed water is used for irrigation.

Reclaimed water in Pasco goes to more than 11,000 residential customers, 15 golf courses, 15 schools and 491 agricultural acres.

The system boasts 162 miles of pipelines, eight reclamation facilities and 12 pump stations and storage tanks.

Following state

The county is following the Sunshine State's lead. Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael W. Sole noted on DEP's Web site, "Currently, Florida is leading the nation – reusing 660 million gallons of reclaimed water each day to conserve freshwater supplies and replenish our rivers, streams, lakes and the aquifers."

In 2006, the state was the first recipient of the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection's Water Efficiency Leader award.

Pasco County began its program in the 1980s in West Pasco by signing water reuse agreements with golf courses.

But most West Pasco residences don't have reclaimed water piping, according to Wright, because they were built before an ordinance requiring the piping in new housing developments was passed about five years ago.

Monthly residential costs are $14.82. Golf courses and citrus groves pay 71 cents per thousand gallons.

Partners with SWFWMD

One of the latest improvements of the system was just completed this year in cooperative funding with the Brooksville-based SWFWMD, the region's main water regulatory agency.

The $3 million Pasco project provided upgrades to structures, meters and piping allowing the system to distribute water more efficiently.

It also has computer capabilities to enable staff to look at the reclaimed water system as a whole and pinpoint the cause of any problems that arise within it.

Prior to the upgrade, "When we would get calls from customers complaining about lack of pressure, someone would have to jump in a truck and go and investigate," Wright explains.

The county expects a 100-million-gallon reservoir, in the Land O' Lakes area, to be completed within a year. Two other reservoirs are also scheduled down the line.

Given the droughtlike conditions that have gripped the area of late, residents wanting to water their lawns often find there is no reclaimed water after 7 a.m., Wright says.

But conditions would be far worse without the system, she observes.

Her job makes her feel as if she is doing useful work for the future, she says.

"If we continue to abuse potable water, there's not going to be drinking water," she says.

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