To go with the big sinkhole that opened up in Frostproof. Straberries, citrus, winter vegetables, ferns, etc. there was a LOT of water pumped during the freeze

http://www.wusf.usf.edu/news/2010/01/13/dry_wells_in_strawberry_country

Dry Wells in Strawberry Country

Posted Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 07:01 pm
By Steve Newborn
TAMPA (1-13-10)

The recent freeze didn't affect just citrus and strawberry growers. Now, hundreds of people living next to farms are complaining about their water wells going dry or water pumps being damaged.

More than 400 calls about dry wells have been made to the Southwest Florida Water Management District in the past several days. Most are coming from the area around Plant City and Dover - the heart of strawberry growing country. That's because farmers were forced to spray water on their crops to prevent them from being damaged.

Robyn Felix is a spokeswoman for the water district.

"I think we've had a real extraordinary weather condition happen this year that required the farmers to pump extra water to protect their crops night after night after night," she said, "and we've seen pretty significant drops in aquifer level. I don't think we've ever seen quite a drop like this before."

And now, many homeowners say they're without water.

One of them is Thurman Bevlin. He's 72, retired, with a wife suffering from Alzheimer's. And now, he has no running water. Bevlin has lived at his Dover home for more than 30 years, but this is the first time his water well has run dry. It happened Monday, during the height of pumping during the freeze. He's pointing his finger directly at his neighbor, who recently converted a field from cattle grazing to strawberries.

"This guy back behind me, he's got about six wells," Bevlin said. "When he started out - it must've been about 15 years ago - he had just the one well, and it drug mine down. This is the first time he's had to do it since then, with the big freeze."

Bevlin was told by Swiftmud that they'll see if he should be compensated for his loss by the neighboring farmer. Bevlin has hooked a hose to another neighbor's well, but he doesn't bear ill will toward the farmer.

"I think they're doing what they have to do to protect their crops," he said. "But I'm not mad at anybody. I think there should be a way they can protect their crops and that they should care about the other people.

Felix says groundwater levels in the Dover and Plant City areas dropped 40 to 60 feet in the past week. Anyone with a dry well is being asked to call the water district to request compensation from farmers.