Water & Sewer

Acquired from a private utility owner in 2003, the Water & Sewer Department (WSD) is owned and managed by the people of Marco Island. Its purpose is to provide an adequate supply of both drinking and irrigation water, to ensure environmentally sound treatment and disposal of wastewater, to provide quality service, and to set reasonable water and wastewater utility rates.

While Marco Island offers its residents a beautiful geographic setting, it presents us with significant challenges. These include:

• A limited source of available water, coupled with an extended dry season with little or no rain
• A limited land area for the production of water and the treatment of wastewater
• An aging infrastructure of water, sanitary sewer lines and treatment facilities (most were installed by Deltona Corporation, the original developer of Marco Island)
• A unique topography of an island formed through a dredge-and-fill process with extensive canals, 14 bridges and flat terrain
• A higher cost for labor and materials due to our geographic location In fact, the WSD water and wastewater utility system is considered to be one of the most complicated and challenging of any system in Florida.

Water Conservation Is A Vital Component Of Our Business Plan

To ensure the best service for our citizens, we have developed a business plan that recognizes the unique environmental sensitivity of Marco Island, its pristine waterways, the lack of an island-wide sanitary sewer collection system and the need to provide water and wastewater services for a growing population. One of the vital components of our plan is a water conservation program.

This program is essential for many reasons:

1. Marco Island’s limited supply of water originates from wells on the Island and from Marco Lakes/Henderson Creek. The well water supply is becoming increasingly brackish and more difficult to treat, and there is limited water available from Marco Lakes/ Henderson Creek during the dry season in the winter months.
2. As the demand for water increases, a greater investment in capital facilities will be required to treat the water, resulting in higher utility rates to offset this investment.
3. The cost to treat drinking water is becoming more expensive as federal and state regulations require increasingly more stringent drinking water treatment standards.
4. Up to 70 percent of our drinking water is used for irrigation purposes — more often than not, in excessive amounts. This wastes valuable water, making water bills needlessly higher.
5. Just 5 percent of our residents use 20 percent of the water, but the capital investment and treatment costs required to serve a few are shared by all customers.
6. Public policies and regulations set by the state through its water management districts are focusing more on water conservation as a means to protect and preserve a valuable natural resource. As a result, less water is being diverted to water utilities for their customers.

A Water Conservation Program

Fortunately, there are many ways you can help conserve a limited water supply, and at the same time, protect valuable resources and save money. Two of the easiest ways to avoid wasting water are:

1. Manage your irrigation system. Because irrigation is the single-family homeowner’s largest use of water, the easiest way to conserve is to make sure your system is operating properly.  Malfunctioning irrigation systems are the greatest cause of water loss.
2. Detect leaks early. Leaks within the home are the second greatest cause for water loss. Leaks in the toilet storage tank, for example, can cause water to drain out without notice, and thousands of gallons of water may be lost each month. The situation is particularly acute for those who leave their homes for extended periods without turning off the water supply valve to their home or toilets.

Responsible irrigation and awareness of leaks are two easy ways to conserve water.

Other Outdoor Water Uses

Other outdoor water uses, including low-volume hand watering, car, truck, and boat washing, and the washing of exterior home surfaces and roofs, shall be allowed anytime with the use of low-volume pressure cleaning equipment, low-volume mobile equipment washing and/or a water hose equipped with an automatic self-canceling or automatic shut-off nozzle; in all cases, the water used must drain to a pervious surface or to a water recycling/reuse system.

City of Marco Island Water Irrigation Restrictions

Prevent unnecessary watering with a properly operating rain sensor.

Rain Sensors

A drive through Marco Island in the early morning hours, during or immediately after a heavy rain, clearly indicates that many properties are irrigating their lawns needlessly. They either do not have a rain sensor or the one they do have is not functioning properly. Be sure your irrigation system has an operational rain sensor. Florida Statutes require a rain sensor device to temporarily disconnect irrigation during or following a rainfall. The rain sensor tells the system when rains have already provided adequate water and disables the system until drier conditions return. The cost of a rain sensor ($30, and about $100 for installation by an irrigation contractor) can easily be recovered by watering less. The rain sensor should be set so that 1/2 inch or more of rain will temporarily disable your irrigation system. Some sensors have two small holes at the bottom to allow the water to drain out. Adjust the sensor to cover one of the two holes.

Notice whether your rain sensor is operating properly. If your sprinkler activates following a heavy rainfall, you should be suspicious. Rain sensors typically have a long life, but they may not be on the proper setting or they may have been installed incorrectly. A service call by an irrigation firm to inspect a system may be necessary occasionally.

Operation and Inspection of Irrigation Devices

Install irrigation devices that are most water efficient for specific uses. Micro and drip irrigation hoses are examples of efficient devices. They are available at most hardware stores, easy to install and very efficient. Check sprinkler systems and timing devices regularly to be sure they are operating properly and are positioned so water lands on the lawn and shrubs and not on paved areas. Damaged sprinkler heads caused by automobiles, lawn mowers, or weed trimmers are a common occurrence. Because irrigation occurs at night or in the early morning hours, it is easy to miss a malfunctioning sprinkler head. The water loss is significant and the remaining sprinkler heads do not adequately water your landscaping. Insist that a property manager or lawn maintenance firm inspect and repair the sprinkler heads and check the timing at least once each month. Sprinkler timer boxes should also be checked at least once each month to ensure proper time setting. Without battery backup in the control box, proper time settings may be lost due to power outages. Frequently inspect the sprinkler system to ensure that proper water pressure is reaching the heads. If not, there may be a cracked pipe beneath the surface. With sandy soil conditions, these leaks may go undetected until you receive a very high water bill. See the “Detecting a Water Leak” section of this brochure to help determine whether you have a leak in your irrigation system. Native and/or drought-tolerant grasses, ground covers, shrubs and trees do not need water as frequently as other plants and will usually survive a dry period without watering. They also require less fertilizer and herbicides. Many sprinkler heads have a screw at the top that can be adjusted to reduce or shut off the water spray. Sprinkler heads are frequently installed along the perimeter walls of a home to irrigate shrubs. Consider shutting off these heads. Most drought-tolerant shrubs should do well with no direct irrigation. If using a garden hose to irrigate, do not leave unattended. A garden hose can pour out 600 gallons of water an hour. Consider using a bell timer to remind yourself to turn hoses off. If you will be away for more than a few days, be sure that someone inspects your property on a regular basis. A broken water pipe may result in a utility bill of $1,000 or more. Consider turning off the water supply valve to your home (but leave your irrigation supply valve on). This will prevent loss due to leaks, burst washing machine hoses, silent toilet leaks and hot water tank leaks.

Check sprinkler systems and timing devices regularly to be sure they are operating properly and are positioned correctly.

A leaking toilet is the most common source of leaks and can be easily detected and repaired.

Meet Your Water Meter

Located at the front corner of your property inside a plastic meter box, your water meter can provide you with useful  information. If you open the lid of the brass meter, you’ll see a dial and a small black or red triangle. There is also a needle that rotates clockwise and registers water consumption in gallons. There is a fixed “0” on the right and six movable numbers on a standard residential meter. When water passes through the meter, the small triangle will spin and the needle will rotate. One complete revolution of the needle indicates 10 gallons of water, and the first movable number on the right will advance one number. If all faucets in your house as well as your irrigation system are off but the triangle is spinning and the needle is rotating, there is a leak somewhere.

Detecting a Water Leak

Check for leaks in your irrigation system. Start by making a visual inspection around your property and look for unusual wet spots. Because of our sandy soil conditions, however, water due to leaks may not rise to the surface. Turn off the water shut-off valve to the house. It is usually located on the side of the house next to an outside faucet. Look at the small triangle on the face of the water meter. If it is turning, this is a good indication of a leak somewhere outside of the house. The leak may be in the water line between the meter and the house, the water line going to the boat dock, or in the sprinkler system. If the small triangle is not moving, there still may be a leak in the sprinkler system between the zone control valves (usually on two sides of the house) and the sprinkler heads. One way to check is to observe the sprinkler system in operation. Uneven or low distribution of water may indicate a leaking pipe between a valve and the sprinkler head. Another way is to read the meter and then operate one zone for about five minutes. Read the meter again and record the consumption. Repeat for each zone. Consumption shouldn’t vary considerably from one zone to the next. If one zone uses significantly more water, there may be a leak. Another sign of a leak is when the last sprinkler head in a zone has lower pressure than the other sprinklers (although the head may be blocked by sand or other debris).

Check for leaks in your home. Start by turning off the control valve on the irrigation system. This is usually a PVC valve located above the ground near your water meter. Be sure all faucets and water-using appliances are off and make sure no  one uses water during the test period. Look at your water meter and determine if the small triangle needle is turning. Also, take a reading of your water meter (last four digits), wait about 30 minutes, and then take a second reading. If the dial has moved or if the small 1/4 inch triangle dial is turning, you have a leak. The leak may be in the house, between the water meter and the house or between the house and the boat dock.

Check for leaking faucets and toilets. A leaking toilet is the most common source of leaks. Check for leaks by placing a few drops of food coloring in the tank. If after 15 minutes the dye shows up in the bowl, the toilet has a leak. Leaky toilets can usually be repaired inexpensively by replacing the flapper. Use Xeriscape landscaping principles to cut back on water use.