Tampa Bay Water submitted a permit application to the Southwest Florida Water Management District to increase the Alafia River withdrawal to 19% of available flow when the adopted Minimum Flow in the river is met, capped at 75 million gallons of water per day (mgd). The existing permit allows withdrawals of 10% of available flow when the Minimum Flow is met, capped at 60 mgd. If approved, this increased amount could help the agency fill the regional reservoir quicker ahead of the 2026 dry season and in future years.
The requested permit modification is consistent with the Minimum Flow established for the Alafia River and four emergency orders issued by the District since 2002. The low-flow threshold in the requested permit modification protects the low and high flows of the river. The latest modeling shows the permit increase could net the agency an annual average quantity of 32.2 mgd with no adverse effects to the environment. That’s about 13.5 mgd more than under the current permit.
“This is a cost effective, environmentally sustainable solution to meeting increasing regional water demands,” said Warren Hogg, chief science officer at Tampa Bay Water. “The increase would allow us to reach our maximum withdrawal faster, with no harm to the river or environment.
The Alafia River Pump Station can already divert up to the proposed new cap of 75 mgd, so the utility won’t need additional infrastructure to harvest the additional water.
