In a vote brought by Councilman Karl Nurse, St. Petersburg City Council is voting to increase reclaimed water costs.  We want the city council to vote no on the increase.  And if the city does increase rates in excess of 25%, we want confirmation by voting here that users will stop using the service in protest and to show city council that the entire city needs reclaimed water users.

BACKGROUND: The reclaimed water system was installed with a federal grant to help responsibly dispose of partially treated water that could otherwise not be disposed of in the bay. This wastewater has nowhere to go and would otherwise need to be temporarily housed in injection wells, which is not a permanent solution, and to install more will cost over $1,000,000. Reclaimed pipes were installed for homes that could not drill for well water, which are areas like Shore Acres and Snell Isle. If one were to drill a well in those areas, they would only reach salt water.

City council wants to increase costs to help subsidize the city's otherwise inability to properly and responsibly get rid of partially treated water. The city needs the reclaimed water system and for people to use it, yet they believe only users of it should pay for helping the city get rid of the water. The system benefits the entire city and the cost should be shared.