Grimsley Is Biggest Water User In Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID - State Representative Denise Grimsley's condo used more water than any other piece of residential property in Lake Placid through all of 2007 and the first three months of 2008, the town's water usage records indicate.

The condo at 19 Sunset Lane had used more than 50,000 gallons a month from January 2007-the earliest records obtained in a countywide request of all municipal and county water usage records-to March 17, 2008. Her usage cut down to 11,000 gallons per month from March through May 16.

Lake Placid utilities director Gary Freeman said the typical Lake Placid resident consumes 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of water per month.

"11,000 is too much," Freeman said. "She's using water for something, who knows what."
From March 2007 through February 2008, Grimsley consumed 765,000 gallons of water. The second-biggest consumer in the town used 347,000 during the same period.

Of the three cities, the only bigger water user is a Lake Isis resident in Avon Park who let 1.249 million gallons flow through the pipes during that period.

Grimsley wrote in an e-mail to Highlands Today that she suspected she had a leak.
"If you saw the size of what I have to water I would have to be watering all the time for that volume," she wrote.

She said in an earlier e-mail that she shut off her irrigation system after March, and during that time, "I was in Tallahassee all month so it is impossible for me to use that much water."

When the suspected 11,000-gallon leak is not considered, her usage is still considerably higher than any other customer in the town.

Freeman said he had requests made last June and this February to check her house for leaks, and he met Grimsley in person in February to perform the inspection. He said he didn't find any leaks in either of the two checks.

Grimsley wrote that she was at a homeowners association meeting in February and after talking to neighbors with similar green space, she realized she had the highest bill of them all.

Her November 2007 bill, when she used 76,000 gallons of water, totaled $237.65.
Freeman and Grimsley both said that Freeman determined it was her irrigation system. Grimsley shut it off after he made that determination, but she believes there's a leak elsewhere because she's still using 11,000 gallons of water while away from home.

"I can assure you I am not wasting water intentionally," Grimsley wrote. "My next step will be to hire a plumber to assist me."

Highlands Today obtained records for all three municipalities in the county as well as Highway Park and Placid Utilities from March 2007 through February 2008.

Research on Sun 'n Lake of Sebring and the South Florida Water Management District, which includes Lorida and the eastern half of the county, were not finished by press time.

Some areas are serviced by private utilities such as Aqua Utilities, whose water usage reports are not considered public records.