Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore has asked county staff to take a closer look at how new developments are handling the discharge of water from their sites.
He broached the topic during the Pasco County Commission’s Aug 10 meeting.
He told county staff that he’s heard “quite a few complaints lately” relating to “some projects out there that are dumping a lot of water on their neighbors.
“I’ve heard that more and more, over the last several weeks, than I’ve heard in the past. I just want to make sure that we’re keeping a close eye on this,” Moore said.
The commissioner said he appreciates the work done by county staff and by staff from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
However, he said, there have been occasions “where you can see where the runoff is coming from these projects “
In one case, a local farmer couldn’t keep his cattle in his field because the cows are being flooded out, Moore said.
“We need to be more conscious, I think, of what’s going on, when we’re going through the process. Because we say, there can’t be one drop of water that impacts a neighboring property. We need to be very, very considerate of that.”
If the water wasn’t there a week ago and it’s there, now, “it’s obvious what’s going on,” Moore said.
His concerns echo frequent complaints raised by opponents of rezoning requests, who cite concerns that additional development in their area will create potential for additional area flooding problems.
By law, a site cannot discharge more water post-development than it discharged prior to development, but residents often are skeptical that adequate measures will be taken to ensure no flooding occurs.
Published August 25, 2021
