Water consumption

The photograph on the front page of the Hernando Times this morning should be a grime reminder to all of us to practice water conservation. This photo shows Highlands Lake in Pasco county as a mere mud puddle. The very dry conditions in our area are really putting a strain on our local environment.

As an example of drought conditions, the canal behind my house has almost completely dried up and it is disturbing to see the wildlife struggling to survive without water. Even though the egrets have had a feast picking through the mud, all the other wildlife in our area are having a hard time surviving with these drought like conditions. The gators that are usually in abundance in this canal have left the area in search of water. This is the driest our area has been since 1992 when the neighborhood children picked bass out of the mud in the canal with their bare hands. As a small tributary off the Withlacoochee River, this canal is only one example for all of us to really watch our water consumption.

The Withlacoochee River rises and falls at the whims of the Hillsborough River Basin area. When they need water, we are shut out and when they have excessive rain, we flood from the change in their lock system. The officials have denied for years that this has happened but we, river people, can watch the changes almost like clockwork as the water levels rise and fall in the Withlacoochee river. For an example when high rains occur, we can watch the water level change in the Withlacoochee rise, sometimes more than two feet, in a twenty-four hour period.

In the last two weeks, I have watched our canal completely dry up. Maybe if the people downstream of us in Hillsborough and Pasco Counties would stop over-watering their lawns, our wildlife would not be struggling to survive this morning. Are they going to drain our area completely causing our wildlife die off? Who will come to our assistance when our wells dry up?

Drought conditions are happening here at home and everyone needs to be on board to watch their water consumption. Please, everyone, make it a good practice to turn off the faucet, we all depend on it...