Council eases water resolution

Water use down; ban remains

 

Brandon’s water ban will remain in place for now, but minor tweaks to Resolution #11-18 slightly eases the ban.

That was the consensus of the Brandon City Council on Monday evening.

While watering or irrigating of yards and grass remains off limits, residents can now water their gardens, trees, shrubs, vegetables and flowers, just not between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. 

In recent weeks, city administrator Bryan Read said his office has received requests from residents who want to power wash their homes and decks, or wash their vehicles, for example.

Monday’s changes to the resolution also will allow residents to do that.

Alderman Don Wells favored lifting the ban and implementing odd-even water restrictions, but when that idea wasn’t supported by the council majority, he turned his support to the above noted changes.

“I think we need to take a leap of faith in humanity and give our citizens the right to have water,” he said.

Alderwoman Jo Hausman put her vote behind the slight revisions to the resolution, but not lifting the ban completely. 

“People want green grass, and I understand that, but I want safety over green grass,” she said.

Wells pointed out that the city loses $3,600 per day in water revenues with the ban in place.

“I think the community is very well aware of what we’ve gone through,” he said, noting the public needs to be more conscious about water use. He suggested shorter showers and using nozzles on hoses so the water doesn’t just don’t run out of the hose, for instance.

“I honestly don’t think we’ll have an issue,” he said. “We put restrictions in place and they didn’t follow it. We’ve been on a watering ban for a while now and I think the citizens are educated. They are aware, and people that didn’t know they were watering, they know now.”

Wells also encouraged residents to keep abreast of city issues by registering for the city email alert system on the city website. Currently, 423 residents are registered to receive the alerts.

He also noted residents can stay abreast of city issues through the city Facebook page and the local newspapers.

“And if all else fails, call City Hall,” he said. 

Read said if the ban was lifted, the city could sustain the odd-even watering restrictions if adhered to. 

“If everybody does odd-even, we should be fine, but the problem is that people don’t know that they’re watering, how long they’re watering or how much water they’re putting on their yards; it does take some due diligence on their part,” he said.

He also reminded that one inch of water per week will maintain a yard.

Alderman Roger Brooks pointed out that some residents in his ward have individual wells, and therefore, do not have to comply with the watering ban. That, he added, has presented some confusion.

“I can count 25 homes that were watering every day, and they can do it because they’re on individual wells and not on the city system, and that frustrates those that are on the city system,” he said. “There’s the thought out there that, if they can do it, I can do it,” he said. 

Brooks also supported lifting the water ban with restrictions.

Brandon residents Jeff Gray and Tony Bellack each addressed the council.

Gray advised the city leadership that “something needs to be done for the future,” and said the city needs to take a hardline on enforcing the ban.

“Like any ordinance put in place, it needs to be enforced,” he said.

Bellack said he saw “people who didn’t give two squats about your watering ban,” and said he lost money putting a new lawn in but backed off on watering.

“I didn’t want to lose my home (if there was a fire),” he said. 

In mid-May, the council enacted mandatory watering restrictions. The restriction put the odd-even program into place, with no watering allowed between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. By mid-July, for public safety reasons, the council enacted the full watering ban. 

To read the updated Resolution #11-18 in its full entirety, go to the city website’s homepage, cityofbrandon.org.