Wellen Park | Know the Facts

Know the Facts

This website is updated regularly to address resident questions.
Updated: April 30, 2025

Mattamy was not the developer of Gran Paradiso, Mattamy did not build any homes in the neighborhood and Mattamy has never been a party to any contracts with the Gran Paradiso HOA or any homeowners in the neighborhood.
WVID historically supplied irrigation water to Gran Paradiso pursuant to various agreements and pursuant to multiple sources but not any groundwater from the Gran Paradiso wells. In 2009, WVID entered into a Reclaimed Water Agreement with the Englewood Water District to provide reclaimed water for irrigation to Gran Paradiso. Englewood Water District never had adequate quantities of irrigation water to service Gran Paradiso’s needs, provided irrigation water inconsistently, and WVID had to provide irrigation to Gran Paradiso from other sources. In 2016, it was apparent that WVID would need to find other sources for irrigation water for Gran Paradiso. WVID worked with the Ranch Land Operations (a Mattamy entity) to step in and provide the needed groundwater quantities to serve Gran Paradiso. The Ranch Land Operations modified its water use permit to be authorized to provide groundwater quantities on a standby basis to WVID, which would be used by WVID to serve Gran Paradiso. In April 2024, the Englewood Water District terminated the Reclaimed Water Agreement.
The Ranch Land Operations (Mattamy entity) was the sole permittee on the water use permit following the transfer of the land comprising Wellen Park and all permits from the prior owner. The Ranch Land Operations and another Mattamy company (“Mattamy Entities”) are co-permittees with WVID under a water use permit issued by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) in 2018 that authorizes the Mattamy Entities and WVID to distribute irrigation water to common areas, green space, residential lots, commercial property, and agricultural land in Wellen Park. In 2018, the Mattamy Entities and WVID entered into a master irrigation water supply agreement wherein the Mattamy Entities agreed to allow the permitted groundwater to be used by WVID. Without the agreement, WVID would not have a right to be a permittee on the water use permit. This agreement is a benefit to WVID and all neighborhoods in Wellen Park because it allows groundwater to be used for irrigation purposes when there is insufficient other sources of water (reclaimed water, stormwater) for irrigation purposes. The agreement restricts the Mattamy Entities from allowing the groundwater to be used by outside third parties.
As part of the conservation plan that is incorporated into the water use permit, WVID enters into agreements with each commercial property owner and community association prior to providing irrigation water to ensure compliance with the water use permit. The water use permit limits the amount of irrigation water each commercial property and community can use based on a modeling calculation. A commercial property or community cannot exceed such allocated quantities, even if the overall total water use permitted quantities are not being used.
Each community association is contractually responsible to WVID for monitoring and regulating the irrigation water used within its community by adopting and enforcing a conservation plan. Associations are solely responsible for enforcing watering restrictions against their residents and complying with the conservation plan they create which is approved by WVID. We could find no documentation that Gran Paradiso adopted a conservation plan that was approved by WVID.
Gran Paradiso has dramatically and consistently exceeded their irrigation water allocation for the last four years.
As early as 2021, Gran Paradiso was advised to dial back their usage multiple times which their own Board acknowledged in a newsletter to its residents (newsletter can be found here, Landscape & Irrigation article on Page 5) and were advised as to the repercussions if they did not comply. Additionally, in 2022 Gran Paradiso was advised by WVID that the allocation in their agreement with WVID was inadvertently higher than allowed by the permit (593,000 gallons per day which should have been 547,200 gallons per day) but Gran Paradiso refused to sign an amendment to their irrigation agreement correcting the error to comply with the water use permit. Instead, Gran Paradiso stopped paying irrigation fees and filed suit against WVID.
However, Gran Paradiso continued overwatering while putting access to irrigation water for the entire master plan (via the permit with SWFWMD) at risk for other Wellen Park homeowners.
Over the years, WVID has implemented changes to the irrigation rates, which is common for any utility provider. However, the irrigation rates charged by WVID had been unchanged since 2018. In 2024, WVID retained an independent contractor with 25 years of public utility ratemaking experience to conduct a rate study. The study recommended an annual increase of just $4.96 per month per 10,000 gallons for all neighborhoods and the increased irrigation rates were adopted by WVID in a public hearing in July 2024. All other communities in Wellen Park have timely paid the new rates with no issues.
In 2022, shortly after refusing to pay irrigation rates, Gran Paradiso sued the WVID to terminate their irrigation agreement with WVID.
Neither Mattamy nor WVID have received payment for irrigation water used by Gran Paradiso pursuant to the irrigation agreement in almost 3 years.
Due to Gran Paradiso’s exceedances, in January 2025 SWFWMD approved a permit modification reallocating Gran Paradiso’s irrigation water to others. Therefore, although Gran Paradiso is within the water use permit due to WVID’s need to irrigate WVID’s properties within the neighborhood, the residential properties within Gran Paradiso have no water quantities allocated to serve them under the permit. It would be a violation of the water use permit if WVID irrigated the homes within Gran Paradiso under the current permit.
WVID has terminated its irrigation supply agreement with Gran Paradiso as a result of the permit modification and Gran Paradiso’s defaults. Since Gran Paradiso’s lawsuit requested the Court terminate the irrigation agreement between Gran Paradiso and WVID, Gran Paradiso has received the relief requested in their lawsuit. Gran Paradiso still has access to water for irrigation purposes, just not through an agreement with WVID or under the permit – they can use potable water to irrigate.
Supporting documents related to the above can be found below
Over the last six years, Mattamy as the master developer of Wellen Park, has worked tirelessly to enhance the region and this community through a commitment to job creation, by layering in new healthcare and education options, and by adding multitude of housing options, as well as quality commercial and retail offerings, entertainment, events and recreational options for our residents and visitors alike. We will continue to do what we have always done to enhance our community.