News Releases

13Sep
Tampa Bay Water Board to Consider Two Potential Routes for South Hillsborough Pipeline
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News Release

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brandon Moore
bmoore@tampabaywater.org
(727) 791-2304

CLEARWATER, Fla. (Sept. 13, 2022) – On Sept. 19, 2022, Tampa Bay Water’s board of directors will consider selection of a route for the new South Hillsborough Pipeline. Two potential top-ranked routes will be presented by Tampa Bay Water’s consultants:

  • The “orange” route is the top-ranked route based on weighting non-cost criteria at 75 percent and project cost at 25 percent.
  • The “blue” route is the top-ranked route when putting a greater emphasis on the cost of the project.

The board was originally expected to select a route at its Aug. 15, 2022, meeting, but delayed the decision to allow Hillsborough County more time to review the engineers’ route studies. The board also expressed concern for impacts to water rates as engineers’ estimates went up approximately 44 percent due to the rising cost of construction materials, labor and property in the Tampa Bay region. Each of Tampa Bay Water’s wholesale customers will help pay for Tampa Bay Water’s portion of the pipeline, and those costs will ultimately be paid by the water customers of Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa.

Tampa Bay Water’s engineering consultants analyzed a total of 10 routes (five northern segments and five southern segments), which resulted in a shortlist of three top-ranked consolidated routes. The routes were evaluated against 11 selection criteria, which included non-cost factors such as public inconvenience, safety, environmental impacts and permitting, as well as project cost.

The new South Hillsborough Pipeline will be approximately 25 miles long, up to 72 inches in diameter and will carry up to 65 million gallons per day (mgd) of additional drinking water to the southern Hillsborough service area. It will start at the Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant in Brandon, connect to Hillsborough County’s Lithia Water Treatment Plant and end at the County’s new connection point at Balm Riverview and Balm roads.

For more information, go to tampabaywater.org/shp

About Tampa Bay Water

Tampa Bay Water is the largest wholesale water supplier in Florida, providing high-quality drinking water to its members that, in turn, supply water to more than 2.5 million residents of the Tampa Bay area. Tampa Bay Water member governments include Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties and the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa. To learn more, visit tampabaywater.org.