The Tampa Bay region is growing at a record rate, and Tampa Bay Water is working on expanding its system to ensure adequate supply of drinking water to the Tampa Bay region. It’s part of Tampa Bay Water’s mandate to update its Long-term Master Water Plan every five years. Master Water Plan projects that are ultimately selected for development become part of Tampa Bay Water’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP).
The CIP is a comprehensive 10-year plan updated annually to include new capital projects and to update the scope, capital costs and timing for previously identified projects. The updated plan includes 93 projects at various stages of the project life cycle, including active construction, design and bidding, planned capital projects and feasibility studies to further assess potential projects that are on-going or will start in fiscal year 2022 through fiscal year 2031. The CIP proposed expenditures for fiscal year 2022 are $38,693,401.
At the April board meeting, Tampa Bay Water staff also highlighted potential future funding needs, which includes an estimated $701 million in new debt issuance over the next 10 years. Tampa Bay Water has an excellent bond rating, and operates in a fiscally conservative matter, using its renewal and replacement fund to pay for projects as they are built and using its rate stabilization fund to mitigate rate impacts. Additionally, the utility seeks grant funding for new projects and refinances its bonds whenever possible to achieve savings.
