News Releases

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brandon Moore
bmoore@tampabaywater.org
727-796-2355 | 813-996-7009

No rate increase for 6th consecutive year

CLEARWATER, Fla. — For the sixth consecutive year, Tampa Bay Water’s board of directors approved the agency’s fiscal year budget with no wholesale rate increase. The approved 2017 budget reduces agency expenditures by $3 million and maintains a wholesale drinking water rate of $2.56 per 1,000 gallons.

“Tampa Bay Water’s board is committed to providing clean, safe and reliable water at an affordable price,” said Christina Sackett, chief financial officer for Tampa Bay Water.

Tampa Bay Water reduced expenditures by $3 million compared to current-year expenses by saving $2 million in debt service through bond refundings, and saving $1 million in renewal and replacement projects. To help avoid a rate increase the agency is also using $2.87 million from its rate stabilization fund.

The 2017 budget was developed to ensure Tampa Bay Water delivers a reliable supply of clean, safe water while maintaining regulatory permits.

Projected water delivery to Tampa Bay Water’s member governments is 165 million gallons per day (mgd), one mgd more than fiscal year 2016. For fiscal year 2017, the following water sources are targeted:

• 107 mgd of groundwater
• 50 mgd of surface water
• 8 mgd of desalinated seawater

Tampa Bay Water is a not-for-profit agency whose financial structure is maintained through the sale of water to our member governments. The agency’s capital and operating costs are set at a uniform rate that all six member governments share. At approximately $20 per month for the average household using 8,000 gallons of water per month, the cost of wholesale water remains affordable when compared to other household expenses including:

• ~$45.00 per month for internet service
• ~$70.00 per month for mobile phone service
• ~$75.00 per month for television service
• ~$120.00 per month for electricity service

About Tampa Bay Water

Tampa Bay Water is the largest wholesale water supplier in Florida, providing high-quality drinking water to its members, who in turn, supply water to more than 2.4 million residents of the Tampa Bay area. Tampa Bay Water member governments include the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa, and the counties of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas. For more information, please, please visit www.tampabaywater.org.