Caution: wasting water could lead to Manatee County fines

The Lakewood Ranch Homeowners Association is adding a new caveat to the homeowner’s manual to help educate residents about water efficiency.

According to a state statute, if a resident or business has a automated irrigation system, the system is required to have a sensor to override the scheduled watering sessions to prevent overwatering after heavy rains.

However, the sensors need to be checked to make sure they’re working properly or else the irrigator will continue to water on schedule.

Jack Kerber, the chairman of the restrictions and revisions committee, is drafting the addition to the manual.

“Most of the are sitting there now, non-functional,” he said. “People don’t know about them or forget to check them.”

Kerber said his research with the utilities company that services most of Lakewood Ranch’s water, Braden River Utilities, showed that the grasses on residents’ lawns should get about three-quarters of an inch of water a week. During the summer, when it rains more frequently, that quota is usually met every week and the lawns do not need irrigation. If the sensors aren’t working, the lawns are overwatered and the water ends up running off the lawns and being wasted — and running up a water bill unnecessarily.

“We’re trying to educate the homeowners to make them aware of the situation,” Kerber said.

He said that last year, the HOA held a workshop in coordination with the Southwest Florida Water Management District about saving irrigation water, and it did alleviate some of the waste.

It’s not an only an issue wasting water: the county can cite homeowners for overwatering and violating watering restrictions if an irrigation system is on while it’s rainining.

County utilities staff monitors irrigation every day, Nicholas Azzara, spokesman for the county, said in an email. Usually if a resident is found in violation, the compliance officer will notify the property owner of current watering restrictions and give them a warning. A homeowner can be fined starting at $100, but the amount can increase up to $10,000 for repeat violations.