Tampa Bay Water Blog

At the April board meeting, Tampa Bay Water gave an update on seven projects in various stages of construction.

Three were recently completed for approximately $3.9 million:

• A new solar array at the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir was completed in February. This 1,628-solar-panel array will offset electricity consumption for the agency.
• A seventh pump was installed at the regional facilities site pump station to increase water pressure coming out of the facility. This project was co-funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
• As part of the larger Brandon Booster Station project, the existing flow control valve at the Lithia point of connection was replaced with a larger control valve at the end of March. When the Brandon Booster Station comes online, this new valve will allow for an additional 1 million gallons of regional water per day (mgd) to flow to the Lithia Water Treatment Plant.

Five other projects are underway with a total construction cost of $39.1 million. Included in these are:

• Automating the gates at the Tampa Bypass Canal, which will allow Tampa Bay Water staff to control remotely, lowering labor costs and expediting movement of the gates. Completion: June 2022
• Diesel piping improvements at the Cypress Creek Water Treatment Plant and High Service Pump Station, which will automate filling the generator fuel tanks and prevent spills. Completion: April 2022
• Building the Brandon Booster Station, which will add 5-7 mgd of water to southern Hillsborough County through its Lithia Water Treatment Plant. Completion: late 2023
• Improvements to the Eldridge-Wilde Wellfield to optimize operations of the wellfield and enhance wellfield reliability, energy efficiency and safety. It includes installing new power lines and replacing pumps, motors and enclosures at 24 wells. Completion: summer 2023
• Installing a pH-adjustment to the water coming from the South Pasco Wellfield, improving water quality. Completion: September 2022

Two projects have been awarded and are about to begin construction. These include:

• Replacing an underground existing valve at the Regional Repump Station with a new 36-inch control valve. The Regional Repump Station moves up to 180 million mgd to and from the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir and the Alafia River to the Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant.
• Replacing the pumps and motors at 10 wells in the Cypress Bridge Wellfield and standby generators at three wells that have reached the end of their useful lives.