News Releases

CLEARWATER, Fla. (Sept. 19, 2022) – Today, Tampa Bay Water’s board of directors selected a route segment for part of the new South Hillsborough Pipeline to meet the region’s water needs in 2028.

At the request of Hillsborough County, Tampa Bay Water’s board of directors selected the “blue” route for Segment A of the new South Hillsborough Pipeline. Segment A is approximately 18 miles long and connects Tampa Bay Water’s regional water treatment plant in Brandon to Hillsborough County’s Lithia Water Treatment Plant.

Tampa Bay Water’s board of directors deferred action on Segment B, which is Hillsborough County’s portion of the pipeline. Segment B will carry water from Tampa Bay Water’s regional system to Hillsborough County’s new point of connection at its future South County Water Treatment Facility.

The new South Hillsborough Pipeline will be up to 72 inches in diameter and will carry up to an additional 65 million gallons per day (mgd) of water to Hillsborough County’s southern service area when complete in 2028. The pipeline will offer redundancy between the Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant in Brandon and Hillsborough County’s Lithia Water Treatment Plant.

Tampa Bay Water and its project team evaluated several alternative routes against numerous criteria, including cost, safety, environmental impact, long-range planning, public input and more. A total of 10 routes were evaluated and ranked, resulting in a short list of three top-ranked routes.

A detailed map and route description are available at tamapbaywater.org/shp.

The board also approved a motion for Tampa Bay Water staff to work with Hillsborough County staff on an updated Joint Project Agreement to connect the approved route to the County's new South County Water Treatment Facility.

The next project phase will be for Tampa Bay Water’s consulting engineers to complete the detailed design for the pipeline. Tampa Bay Water has received $4.5 million in co-funding from the Southwest Florida Water Management District for preliminary design and will apply for additional funds in fiscal year 2023 and beyond.

At today’s meeting, the board of directors also approved a resolution to issue fixed interest rate revenue bonds to fund a portion of the Tampa Bay Water’s capital projects, including the South Hillsborough Pipeline and other improvements to the utility system. Issuing these bonds extends the life of Tampa Bay Water through the term of the bonds, the year 2052, in accordance with Tampa Bay Water’s Amended and Restated Interlocal Agreement.

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 2.5 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.