New Sources Add Up to One Great Blend
Before 2002, Tampa Bay Water's supply consisted solely of groundwater - water withdrawn from the Floridan Aquifer through wells. In order to reduce dependence on long-producing groundwater supplies and diversify the region's water supply sources, Tampa Bay Water developed a Master Water Plan to meet water demands into the future. Most projects in the first phase of that plan are complete, adding surface water and desalinated seawater to our groundwater supply to make a higher quality blend of drinking water.
Groundwater and surface water are treated at new regional water treatment facilities located at a 433-acre industrial property near U.S. 301, Broadway Avenue and Falkenburg Road. Desalinated seawater that has already been treated will be piped to the regional facilities site where the three sources of water will then be blended and distributed to Tampa Bay Water's member governments. Both the surface and the groundwater components of this new facility together cover up to 120 acres of the site.
Tampa Bay Water skims surface water from the Tampa Bypass Canal, Alafia and Hillsborough rivers. The amount of surface water we can withdraw varies with available flows. When river flows are low, less water is withdrawn. When river flows are higher, more water is withdrawn. And no water can be withdrawn below a designated low flow amount. The first 60-66 million gallons per day (mgd) is treated at a new state-of-the-art surface water treatment plant. Quantities above 66 mgd is stored in a 15-billion gallon regional reservoir. During dry times when little or no river water can be withdrawn, up to 66 mgd from the reservoir will be treated at the regional surface water treatment plant.
Groundwater contains less organic matter and requires less complicated treatment to make it safe and pleasing. The groundwater portion of the blended water comes from existing wellfields and new dispersed wells.
The Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant, located on Tampa Electric Company's Big Bend Power Station site in Apollo Beach, is the largest desalinated seawater facility in North America. When operating at full capacity, the plant produces 25 mgd of high quality drinking water from seawater.
The plant uses reverse osmosis to separate the salt water from fresh water. Reverse osmosis is a process that uses high pressure to force water through semi-permeable membranes leaving the salt and other minerals behind in a seawater concentrate. Reverse osmosis produces a very high-quality drinking water.
