| In
light of the 1998 negotiated agreement that formed Tampa Bay Water
and the mandated reduction in ground water pumping under the
consolidated permit -
the spirit of
which is to reduce ground water pumping - and in light of the
substantive scientific and empirical evidence of the environmental
damage caused by longterm, sustained ground water pumping, the
Coalition to Preserve Our Water Resources (formerly known as the
Coalition to Save East Pasco)
strongly opposes the development of new groundwater pumping
in either Pasco or Hillsborough County.
CoPOWR additionally opposes transfer of water use permits
without a new comprehensive review of the impacts of withdrawals.
CoPOWR supports the development and use of alternative sources of
water, including but not limited to, desalinization of brackish
and salt water; and supports efforts to make approval of new
development contingent on availability of potable water
Locally, we are
focused on encouraging the development of alternative sources of
water for the three county region. We believe that in the end,
alternative sources are not more expensive than ground water if
you accurately assess the full cost of ground water including the
costs of mitigating environmental damage associated with
development of ground water.
At the State level,
we are focused on the issue of privatization of water. In several
areas
of the state, permit holders are attempting to sell rights
associated with water use permits. We believe that a water use
permit is a temporary authorization
to
use our water for a specific purpose. If the water is not needed
for that specific purpose, then the permit should be revoked.
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