Here Are Some Tips To Help Conserve Water As Offered At The 7 Rivers Water Festival

by James Coulter

A man dumps a bucket of oil that he emptied from his truck down a storm drain. His wife washes their car using a hose without a nozzle. Their neighbor mows her lawn, scattering cut grass and other debris into the street and down the storm drain.

All of these people are going about their daily lives performing household chores, yet unbeknownst to them, their actions are contributing to the depletion and pollution of their local natural water supply.

These scenes are on display within the Water Wagon, a mobile educational diorama created by the Haines City Utilities Department to help educate the public about the importance of water conservation.

Ed Trail, Transportation Supervisor of Haines City, and his staff take this mobile display to various social events and school outings to help demonstrate ways that people and their actions affect the local water supply and what they can do to help conserve water.

“You are looking at various scenes,” he explained. “This could be a scene anywhere. It could be the street I live on. It could be the street you live on. There are many things going on the street that we often do on a regular basis that we often take for advantage or we don’t really realize is harmful for the environment.”

One way people unknowingly waste and deplete water is through their irrigation system. Some people position their sprinklers so that the water ends up spraying into the street. As such, sprinkler heads should be positioned so that water only sprays onto the lawn, Trail explained.

As for the other examples within the diorama, people should properly dispose of their motor oil and not empty it into the storm drains. They should wash their cars on their lawns so that any dirt and sediment washed off is filtered through the ground, with the soap helping to serve as fertilizer for the grass. And the cut grass and debris from mowed lawns should be collected and emptied into the trash rather than washed away into storm drains.

These helpful tips were promoted through the Water Wagon’s diorama, which was one of many vendors on display at the 7 Rivers Water Festival in Winter Haven on Saturday.

Trail and his staff have been attending the event ever since they first constructed the Water Wagon back in 2013. Since then, they have seen the local event grow, and have attended each and every year to help further its mission of promoting water conservation and preservation.

“It is always a great event,” he said. “Anytime you can get the message out to the residents about water conservation, preservation, taking care of what we have, because water is something they don’t make anymore.”

For the past five years, the 7 Rivers Water Festival has been hosted by Polk County Utilities to help educate the local public about water conservation. This year’s event was hosted at Central Park in Downtown Winter Haven.

Several local organizations set up booths to provide information and hands-on activities to help local residents and visitors about the importance of protecting the environment, especially when it comes to the natural water supply within the county’s many lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers.

Julie Schelb, The Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program Coordinator with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), joined her staff to help teach ways that attendees can conserve water at home.

One such way was by creating and using rain barrels to collect rainwater, which could then be used to provide irrigation. Not only does this help conserve fresh water, but also help reduce rainwater runoff in the landscape, Schelb explained.

The best barrel to use is one that is food grade, having previously been used to store food rather than potentially harmful chemicals. Once the barrel has been cleaned and prepared, drill a hole six inches from the bottom to use for the spigot or hose. Make sure the barrel is set level on the ground, using cinderblocks if you need to. Above all, keep the top secure with fine mesh screening to prevent mosquitos from laying their eggs within the water.

Schelb has been with UF/IFAS for the past three years, and she has been attending the water festival since then. She appreciates being able to attend each and every year to help educate the public through such demonstrations.

“This is a great opportunity to teach people about where our water comes from, and [give] options to save and conserve water,” she said. “So we like being a part of this. This is a great day, great weather, great turnout. Lots of people here. So very exciting to see the community out here.”

Jacqueline Hollister, Environmental Specialist with Polk County Utilities, has been helping organize and oversee the festival since it started five years ago. What she appreciates most about this annual event is how it encourages attendees to get hands-on with the demonstrations and vendors, helping them better learn about water conservation through fun activities.

“The idea behind the festival is that everything we do on the land affects the water quality and quantity in the lakes,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize this. So this is not just something you walk through. It is very interactive. You learn a lot.”

Each year has seen the event grow with more vendors and attendees. She hopes that it will continue to grow, and that as it grows, that more and more people learn about how their actions affect their environment and their water supply.

“They need to realize that everything that they do, all the fertilizer and chemicals they put out, and all the trash that they toss out the window and door or happens to fly out of a car has an effect, because we have an effect on the water from the Coast to the Gulf,” she said.

Old Man Franks Rocks Out At Second Annual Country Music Fest

by James Coulter

There are three things that Patrick Renney, guitarist for the Polk County Porch Pickers, loves: drinks, smokes, and having a good time. In fact, he loves all that so much that he even wrote a song about it.

Both him and his drummer, Tommy Shockley, who form the Tom Trick Duo, performed that song for an audience of other people who love to drink, smoke, and have a good time during the second annual Country Music Fest at Old Man Franks on Saturday afternoon.

For the second year, Renney attended the small musical gathering at the local oyster bar located near Lake Shipp in Winter Haven, where he and several other local bands and artists performed for resturant guests and passing boaters.

Renney loves Old Man Franks. He loves the beer, but he especially loves the music. He and his band performs there at least once a month. Being able to attend this event for the second year allowed him to share his mutual love for music with others, he said.

“We love the music,” he said. “Everybody playing here has been awesome. There is a lot of talent here in Polk County, and you can’t beat it. It is the best around. I think it is doing its job for sure.”

Brian Sears and his band mates from Yep! also attended the event that afternoon. Though they did not perform that day, they did take the opportunity to enjoy and listen to other music.

He and his bandmates have performed all throughout the state since starting in 2001, having played in Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Orlando, and Clermont. They are even planning on performing as the opening act for Pearl Jam at an upcoming concert.

 As for Old Man Franks, the only thing that he loves more than the beer and the shrimp is the music. Like the other musicians who perform there, it is a love that they share with others.

“Everybody believes in music,” he said. “We live on music. When you turn your radio on every morning. We listen to it on our way home. We listen to music. Music is what makes us go around.”

Old Man Franks first opened in 1954. Since then, the local oyster bar has served multiple generations of locals and seasonal residents. With the establishment located right on the lakefront, guests have easy access to the water, where they can dock their boats or watch as other boats float on by.

“We always pride ourselves being a small town place with a Key West atmosphere where you can always have the perfect getaway right around the corner,” said manager Jesse Hadsock.

This was the second year the bar hosted its annual music fest. In keeping with its small town feel, their event hosts only local bands and musicians. Not much changed since last year, which has only allowed the event to be as good as it was last year, Hadsock said.

“We try to keep everything the same, we just want to keep going with the same feel we always have, where everybody from the local community will feel welcome and enjoy what it is to be a Central Florida resident and live on the Chain of Lakes,” he said.

Hadsock hopes to continue moving the event forward into the future, and drawing in more local musicians and attendees to enjoy good local music. When it comes to turnout, it’s not about the size, but the overall vibe.

 “As long as I look around and see a lot of smiling faces, then I say expectations are met,” he said. “We always like to have good live music, and I want an all-day event, and country music is kind of the thing that is keeping us together right now. There is a lot of positive vibes in that that other genres are not offering right now. If there is any inspiration at all, that would be it.”

Old Man Franks is located at 1005 Lake Howard Dr. SW, Winter Haven, FL 33880. For more information, visit their website at: https://oldmanfranks.com/