Tampa Bay Water announces 1 million plan to boost drinking water supply.

Tampa Bay Water is set to embark on a significant 1 million expansion of its surface water treatment plant, located in Tampa, with work anticipated to commence in September. The company Veolia North America, a key partner in this project, has finalized arrangements with Tampa Bay Water to facilitate this expansion, which is expected to boost the region’s drinking water capacity by 12.5 million gallons per day.

This treatment facility currently processes a variety of water sources, including groundwater, river water, and desalinated seawater. Specifically, it treats water sourced from the Tampa Bypass Canal, as well as the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers. The demand for fresh water in the Tampa Bay area is projected to increase significantly, with an estimated additional requirement of 25 million gallons daily by the year 2045, driven by population growth.

Tampa Bay Water serves six west-central Florida governments: Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, New Port Richey, St. Petersburg, and Tampa. Elected officials from these jurisdictions comprise the board of directors of Tampa Bay Water, which approved the expansion plan back in 2018. The complexity of such projects typically leads to a lengthy timeline, with completion expected by 2028, approximately a decade after the planning phase initiated.

The last significant upgrade to this facility occurred in 2010, which nearly doubled its operational capacity. Currently, the plant is capable of treating a maximum of 120 million gallons of water daily. The forthcoming expansion plans include the construction of a fifth treatment system and additional filtration measures, ultimately increasing sustainable daily capacity to around 110 million gallons, with a peak capacity anticipated to range between 140 and 150 million gallons.

Veolia, which acquired the original company responsible for constructing the facility, has been delivering drinking water services in the region since 2000. Previously, the West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority oversaw local water supply, a system that was not entirely efficient and resulted in disparities among municipalities. The initiation of Tampa Bay Water marked an end to what local leaders referred to as decades-long “water wars,” particularly in light of the extreme droughts that plagued the area in the 1980s and 1990s.

Thanks to the current utility’s diversified water sourcing strategy, including limited reliance on groundwater, the region has significantly improved its environmental health, facilitating the recovery of local lakes and wetlands. This effort represents one of the most crucial environmental recovery initiatives within the Tampa Bay area, underscoring the utility’s commitment to sustaining the region’s water resources for future generations.