Al Austin Using Up Tampa Bay’s Water

By Drew Harwell, St. Petersburg Times

WestShore developer and Republican Party fundraiser Al Austin stared at the lush acreage that fronts his Tampa estate. The bluegill pond, the crape myrtles, the field of St. Augustine grass. These, Austin says, have made him a public enemy.

Although he used more water last year than nearly everyone across Tampa Bay, he says he’s not an abuser, that he’s operating within the rules and trying to keep his property in respectable shape.

“I’m doing the right thing in my community. I do things that are good for the environment,” he said. “I’m just providing water to keep a nice piece of property which I think all my neighbors appreciate.”

Last year, dozens of Tampa Bay homeowners such as Austin, RV king Don Wallace and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner each used more than a million gallons of water. Then the fountains dried and the thermostats climbed and the sprinklers went silent. Millions of gallons were saved.

Austin says his need remains.

“I’m paying for it. I’m abiding by restrictions. If I didn’t have that six acres, there would be 25 houses there using more than I do,” Austin said, though his use of 3.5 million gallons last year could have sated about 40 average homes. “Are you going to say because we have parks that use a lot of water, that’s a waste?”

With talk of drought surcharges, mandatory reclaimed-water hookups and the most restrictive watering rules in history, many Tampa Bay residents are cutting back.

Austin’s gated six-acre estate has used about half a million gallons so far this year, adding to the nearly 8 million gallons used already by other big homes, utility bills show.

Officials say others are in synch. Tampa Bay Water reports savings of more than 56 million gallons a week since automatic irrigation was banned. Restrictions implemented earlier this month decreased usage by about 21 million gallons per day compared to last year, according to the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Typically, about 2 percent of residential users consume up to 15 percent of the water supply, Swiftmud officials say. Austin already has plunked down $2,500 for this year’s water bills.

“If you think I’m happy paying that much money for water, guess again. That’s a very expensive thing for me. With the economy the way it is, I wish it would cut back,” he said, a six-man landscaping crew still rumbling.

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Source:  TampaBay.com