Young protesters on Saturday near Laurel Manor Recreation Center warned of excessive water usage by The Villages.
The group from the Lake/Sumter Sunrise Movement was assembled along County Road 466 with signs that read, “Save the Aquifer” and “Climate Action Now.”
The protesters said they had coordinated with Sumter County Democrats to warn that The Villages is using 12.4 billion gallons of water a year, and that number will continue to grow as Florida’s Friendliest Hometown expands southward. They said the aquifer is already under extreme pressure and draining the aquifer leads to “crop failure and a massive increase of sinkholes.”
They said on average, Villagers use less water per person – 80 gallons a day compared to 120 gallons.
“Even the most efficient use of the aquifer still negatively impacts it, efficient consumption is still consumption. And consuming to the extent (and increasing) that we are is not sustainable,” the group said in a statement.
