ST. PETERSBURG-- Water gluttons should pay more for water than everyone else, says City Council member Karl Nurse.

Nurse has asked Mayor Rick Baker and the City Council to amend its utility rate policy to deter big water users.

The city's rate policy already takes water usage into account when setting its fees, but residents who use more than 15,000 gallons are all charged $4.79 per thousand gallons.

Nurse wants to create fee categories that would impact residents who use more than 15,000 gallons. For example, under Nurse's proposal, a single family home using more than 25,000 gallons per month would pay $6.50 per thousand gallons. A home using more than 35,000 gallons per month would pay $10 per thousand gallons.

"The intent is not to get the money," said Nurse. "The intent is to get people's attention."

Tampabay.com recently reported that 35 homeowners around Tampa Bay used more than 1 million gallonseach last year, though none was in St. Petersburg. The biggest user in St. Petersburg consumed just under 1 million. Of the biggest water users last year, seven were model homes.

Cristina Silva, Times staff writer

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