GIWA warns on water if irrigation use does not slow immediately

Irrigation demand on the Gasparilla Island Water Association is exceeding its ability to get water onto the island; if they see no reduction, there could be a loss of water to the entire island.

The Association has reached out to their larger users and associations; however, they have seen an increase of 25 to 30 percent from all users, said Ron Bolton, executive director of GIWA.

“Nobody should be irrigating on Monday and Friday at all,” Bolton said. “And no irrigation except between midnight and 5 a.m.” 

If irrigation is happening during the day, it is essentially a waste of water because most of it is evaporated, and any that is left over gets so hot that it burns the grass, he added.

The GIWA tanks have a 28-foot full capacity. They shut off when they get to around 11 feet, Bolton said. Right now, they are at 13 feet and losing about half a foot a day. 

“If there’s not a reduction in irrigation we could have a loss of water to the entire island,” he said. “During the day we have no issues at all. Hopefully we get some rain this weekend.”

Both Charlotte and Lee County have  drought restrictions in place.

Visit mygiwa.com/resources/water-conservation-measures/ to see what days and times it is permissible to irrigate.