Clay Commissioners discuss options to lower forecasted doubling of water demand
Monitor Editor
GREEN COVE SPRINGS—Clay County Utility Authority Executive Director Jeremy Johnston told county commissioners during a March 22 workshop that Clay County’s water demand will double between now and 2045.
Johnson said CCUA customers are averaging 12 million gallons of water a day and will be using 24 MGD 23 years from now.
Johnson said that to meet future water needs, his utility will use a combination of supply projects and incentives for customers to curtail demand, rather than relying on one single solution.
Past success
Johnston pointed to success the utility has experienced in curbing demand in the past. He said that because of CCUA’s reclaimed water program, tiered rate structure and conservation efforts, the water utility’s customers are consuming 3.2% less water now than they did in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, even though the utility has 9,516 more accounts now than it did then.
He also said that 90% of the county’s future residents will be CCUA customers. However, even with that growth rate, in 25 years the utility will only serve 75% of the county’s population.
“So, there will still be a significant portion of the population that will either be (connected to) the other municipalities or domestic self-supply throughout the county,” he said.
He added that the utility has been so successful in converting customers to reclaimed water for landscaping that after 2031, CCUA will begin to experience shortages in reclaimed water.
Decreasing demand
Johnston said that CCUA plans to use toilet rebates, washing machine rebates, pricing, irrigation systems with advanced technology and requiring developers to enact water conservation features to curb future demand.
He added that these policies would be in addition to the utility’s current services of three-day continuous monitoring to detect leaks and CCUA’s free water conservation assessments.
Regulating yards
Johnston said that one idea for decreasing future water demand is for the county to enact landscaping rules that would limit and reduce the amount of turf homeowners could have on their properties.
County Manager Howard Wanamaker added that reducing the amount of St. Augustine turf would be beneficial because the dark-green, broad-blade species requires a lot of water and fertilizer to maintain.
Now, the county requires developers to submit landscape plans for new developments but does not specify which grasses to use.
Commissioner Mike Cella said that neighboring St. Johns County does dictate to developers which grass species may be planted or laid, with one species allowed for front yards and another allowed for back yards.
