EDITOR’S DESK — Letter to our Editors:

Dear Editors,
I am writing to inform that the article entitled "To Save Water Year-Round, Pricing Must Change" contained incorrect information with regard to the City of Tampa.

First, the reference figure of gross per capita use is off significantly. Our per capita water use is 99 gpd as calculated using the SWFWMD formula, not 120 gpd as reported. This was last calculated in January 2009. And the 99 gpcd should go down as a result of our "hand watering only" restrictions for turf over the last 2 months. We saved approximately 500 million gallons of water or almost 13 gpcd.

Second, we are in the second year of a 5-year rate increase program that will double Tampa’s rates. My calculations are close to yours on the low end, but not on the high end (20,000 gallons). I don't know if it's because the current rates aren't being used, sewer max wasn't calculated properly, or the water units (1 ccf = 748 gallons) weren't converted to 1000 gallons.

The third item was not an error, but including this information would have resulted in a more balanced report. Tampa is proposing to add two tiers for large users that will be $12.18/ccf ($16.28/1,000 gallons) for top-tier in-City customers and $20.35/1,000 gallons for customers outside the City limits. These rates will apply year-round as suggested in your article, not just during drought times. When initiated, I believe these rates will be the highest in the Tampa Bay Area.

We request that the record be corrected. Thank you,

Brad L. Baird, P.E., Director
Water Department

Our response:
The numbers used in our story came from the latest reports compiled by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The gross per capita water use data was from 2007 and the rate structure came from a February 2009 report. They did not include recent changes to the city’s rate structure or reflect the “hand-watering only” restrictions but they did compare apples to apples at a given moment in time. The point of the story was to show that a tiered structure with significantly higher rates for large users does impact water use. We commend the City of Tampa for its new rate structure and look forward to writing a follow-up article about its impact on water use.

CORRECTION, Spring Issue:

The City of St. Petersburg’s landscape ordinance, recommends but does not require that homeowners refrain from using nitrogen fertilizers on their lawns from June though September, although it will prohibit the sale of nitrogen fertilizer during the rainy season beginning in 2011.

The final paragraph of the story also is incorrect. The 400 tons of nitrogen that would be removed with a 75% compliance represents 20% of the loadings from urbanized lands, not the bay’s total loadings.