Florida TImes-Union: St. Johns Water Management District chairwoman: Plan more to waste less -- Opinion comes during meeting

Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) Desalination plant under construction in Perth, Australia

By Steve Patterson Story updated at 6:26 AM on Thursday, Sep. 24, 2009 EMAIL PRINT

Florida needs better community planning to stop wasting dwindling water supplies, the chairwoman of the St. Johns River Water Management District told planners from across the state Friday.

"I am absolutely convinced that we can be a heck of a lot smarter about the way we use water," Susan Hughes told conventioneers from the American Planning Association's Florida chapter.

Lawn-watering and other outdoor uses take about half of the water used in many areas, she said.

"That's where some of you planners can help," Hughes said, adding: "If we could only plan our communities in a way where we would use less."

Her comments took place at a three-day annual meeting in downtown Jacksonville that focused on making communities more sustainable. About 750 planners and speakers attended, said Kim Glas-Castro, the chapter president.

Hughes' words were part of a panel talk about managing the state's water, and a former state official echoed similar views.

After years of missing chances, "it is even more important that we integrate land and water planning," said Linda Shelley, a lawyer who was secretary of Florida's Department of Community Affairs in the 1990s.

She said water can remain available in Florida even with boundless waste, but that would require building desalination plants or other new sources of water that will be vastly more expensive than the high-quality supply taken now from the aquifer.

Hughes was more pointed, saying that "water will be the oil of the future," recognized as needed for any aspect of community life.

She said heated public debate about using water from the St. Johns to supply Central Florida utility customers illustrates how passionate people can become when supplies are perceived as being threatened.

In parts of Florida, she said, "I think we're just about at that point."

steve.patterson@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4263