News Releases

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brandon Moore
bmoore@tampabaywater.org
727-791-2304 | 727-470-0702

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Providing clean, safe drinking water is a top priority at Tampa Bay Water. The regional water supplier assures residents and business served by its member governments that drinking water is safe and meets or is better than all local, state and federal drinking water regulations.

The water crisis in Flint, Mich., may lead residents to question water quality in the Tampa Bay region. The water quality issues in Flint are due to corrosion – when the pH and alkalinity of water is not balanced. Corrosive water dissolves lead and other harmful agents in pipelines and fixtures.

Tampa Bay Water has always treated water to minimize corrosiveness. In 2002, the year the agency first introduced river water into the regional water supply system, the agency began additional treatment to address the new chemistry of blended water. The agency’s tailored corrosion control process is specifically designed to protect the public’s drinking water.

The regional supplier adjusts alkalinity and pH in its treatment plant before the water is distributed, and monitors water quality at numerous points throughout the supply system.

“If it doesn’t meet our high water quality standards, it doesn’t leave the plant,” said Christine Owen, Tampa Bay Water’s regulatory compliance senior manager.

Tampa Bay Water uses a multi-barrier approach to treating water, which makes water progressively cleaner:

• Color and contaminants are removed through a process called coagulation. Ferric sulfate, the coagulant, makes color and contaminants stick to it and settle out of the water.
• Water is disinfected with ozone, the most powerful disinfectant in water treatment. It kills harmful micro-organisms.
• Water is filtered to remove particles, disinfected again with chlorine, and pH and alkalinity are adjusted to make sure the water is stable and not corrosive.

In addition to treatment, Tampa Bay Water’s continual process of sampling, testing and monitoring ensures the region receives clean, safe water each day by meeting more than 100 local, state and federal drinking water standards.

For more information on regional water quality, residents may email feedback@tampabaywater.org, or call Tampa Bay Water’s information hotline at 866-INFO-H2O (866-463-6426).

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. Tampabaywater.org