At its April meeting, Tampa Bay Water’s board postponed discussion on the City of Tampa’s proposed self-supply project until June 2020. The Tampa Augmentation Project (TAP), proposes to use reclaimed water to bolster Tampa’s Hillsborough River Reservoir supply via injection and withdrawal wells. The City was hoping to secure an agreement with Tampa Bay Water whereby the regional utility allows Tampa to own and permit withdrawal wells, the members agree that the project has regional benefits, and Tampa Bay Water allows Tampa to increase the withdrawal quantities from its water use permit on the Hillsborough River.
Citing environmental and governance related concerns, the board postponed discussion of the project until more scientific and technical analyses are done. To facilitate that work, the board agreed to support Tampa’s pursuit of state and local co-funding for feasibility studies, and directed Tampa Bay Water to fund up to $1.6 million for those studies, should Tampa not receive state and local co-funding.
Tampa Bay Water staff and consultants will continue to closely monitor the TAP project.
