Oviedo encourages water conservation, for now

The Oviedo City Council didn’t have enough votes Monday to increase water rates on the highest users to encourage conservation, instead opting for an educational meeting with top users. 

It’s the “carrot approach” to encourage homeowners, neighborhoods and apartment complexes to cut the amount of water used on landscaping. But the Council left the “stick approach” on the table: possibly increasing the water rates for the biggest users down the road. 

“Is it a tool we could consider for later, if we can’t get the usage down?” Mayor Megan Sladek asked. “I’d like to bring it up later.”

“We can discuss it later,” said CouncilmanJeff Boddiford. “Not saying it’s gonna change anything, but we can discuss it later.”

The Oviedo City Council increased its water rates across-the-board in January. One item that came up during those talks was finding ways to encourage conservation. 

Staff looked at two possibilities Monday for residential customers’ potable, or drinkable, water. Currently, the city offers a tiered rate, where the cost per gallon goes up if you use an excessive amount. You can view the meeting and reports here. 

One option was to keep the rates the same, but lower the threshold for the higher rates. Any resident using more than 8,000 gallons per month would get a higher rate. 

The second option was to increase the rate by $1 for residents using more than 8,000 gallons. Staff was also looking for direction to see if the Council would look at increasing reclaimed water rates or at putting in a tiered system. The third option was to lower the excessive-use threshold and increase rates by $2.  

One of the biggest users of reclaimed water was the Twin Rivers Homeowners Association, which at its highest used 1.3 million gallons of reclaimed water in a month, at a cost of almost $2,600. The neighborhood averages 820,000 gallons per month for its 5.4 acres of common property. 

Councilman Keith Britton lives in Twin Rivers and said he would like to have that data. 

“That’s a pretty good chunk of their budget,” Britton said. “[It would] reduce my yearly dues.”

SUBHEAD: Water conservation grant program considered

If Oviedo were to raise rates or lower the thresholds, it would generate anywhere from $265,000 to $841,342 annually. 

So what would the money have gone for? One idea was to use the tax money to create the Oviedo Water Conservation Grant Program to provide grants to help residents with changing their lawns and landscaping to Florida-friendly plants.

Keegan Ford lives in Oviedo Park Terrace and works with the homeowner’s association. He said he got involved because he wanted his stormwater pond to have a better view. 

Ford has proposed using the extra revenue to plant pollinator-friendly, resilient landscaping around stormwater ponds. 

Ford helped analyze the data on the biggest users of reclaimed and potable water in Oviedo.

“This is an awareness problem,” Ford said. “If they continue to use excessive amounts, the excess beyond what our current rate structure is, we can subtract out whatever increased revenue we have, fund the grant structure with it … like the pond revitalization.”

Ford said he was pleased with how the meeting went. 

“I felt like it was a win,” Ford said. “It’s not gonna happen tomorrow, but to have a plan and some level of support from the Council to do that and give everyone on those rate structures and not get slammed with a huge bill.”

Oviedo currently has more than 200 water retention ponds. Councilman Britton described the move as a step in the right direction to get the top users to lower their consumption. 

“This is a nudge,” Britton said. 

“This is not a nudge,” Mayor Sladek countered. “Money is a nudge.” 

Additionally, the Oviedo City Council on Monday approved spending $175,000 to make repairs to Oviedo Boulevard after a car accident and repair pavement in the Live Oak Reserve Subdivision.

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