Search is on for new water well sites to quench thirsty East Pasco

Lack of water availability has already stymied development plans in east Pasco cities and the county.

Earlier this month, county commissioners heard a pitch for developing 40 single-family homes on a 30-acre parcel just east of Old Lakeland Highway near Dade City.

But that wasn’t what the developer really wanted.

The project, known as Crossways, was originally proposed with 176 homes, both attached and detached, a dense development in a rural area that could not be built without water and sewer lines. Those were things neither the county nor the city had available.

Commissioners were divided on what belonged there, voting to delay action.

Much of eastern Pasco, both inside and outside the city limits of Dade City and Zephyrhills, has seen keen interest by developers but is facing the same utility constraints. There aren’t enough pipes in the ground, and even if there were, the county needs new sources of drinking water.