Toho Water Authority began management of St. Cloud utility Oct. 1

Lost in the “excitement” of Hurricane Ian’s arrival last week, Toho Water Authority and the City of St. Cloud Environmental Utilities Department united and began operations as one utility on Oct. 1.

Toho Water now serves a region that includes the cities of St. Cloud and Kissimmee and portions of Polk and Orange counties. 

It’s been an agreement the St. Cloud City Council approved in February, and much of 2022 has been spent ensuring a smooth transition, the utility said.

“Toho is committed to providing all of our customers dependable, quality water services,” said Toho Executive Director Todd Swingle.  “The teams have been working hard toward integrating the operations of the two utilities to deliver on those goals.”

One of the benefits of working together as one utility included the adoption of Toho’s rate structure, which has meant lower water rates for three-quarters of St. Cloud customers. Water rates have been a source of consternation in the city for years.

As presented to the city earlier this year, overall the city could save $35 million in costs over the next 15 years, while reducing the dependency on single water sources, which increases reliability. The move consolidated efforts to plan for future water resource needs throughout the region, which is growing. The Sunbridge development off Narcoossee Road, for example, currently has hundreds of homes and will expand to thousands in the coming years and decades.

Customers part of the transition received greeting postcards from Toho Water, describing how to find more information about the ongoing transition.

Information can be found online at www.stcloudfl.gov/utilities.

WATER USAGE ADVISORY EASES OUTSIDE OF CYRILS DRIVE AREA: Toho Water announced Thursday it is easing its water usage advisories for the area.

Customers can resume normal water use including irrigation. However, as always, Toho encourages customers to conserve water wherever possible including only irrigating when necessary. But, irrigation service is not available for Customers located off Cyrils Drive due to continued flooding conditions.

Customers should still report any observed sewer backups by contacting Toho Water customer service at 407-944-5000.