Tampa Bay Water update: regional supplies, South Hillsborough well field and PFAS monitoring

Tampa Bay Water provided a regional update to the council, outlining near‑term capital projects and long‑range supply planning.

Chuck Carden, general manager of Tampa Bay Water, told council the wholesale supplier serves six member governments in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties and maintains a blended supply that includes groundwater, surface water and desalination. He said Tampa’s typical annual budgeted purchase is roughly 4,000,000 gallons per day and that the agency’s wholesale rate remains about $2.64 per 1,000 gallons (as stated in the presentation).

Carden described active capital work: a planned expansion of the surface water treatment plant to a design capacity of about 145,000,000 gallons per day, a multi‑phase South Hillsborough well field expected to yield up to 12 million gallons per day when complete, and a 26‑mile pipeline project connecting treatment plants that Tampa Bay Water expects to have in service by 2028. The agency also said it is conducting feasibility studies for additional long‑range supplies and expects to return recommendations to its board in 2027.

On water quality, Carden said Tampa Bay Water is monitoring PFAS (also called PFOS/PFAS or “forever chemicals”) and watching forthcoming EPA regulations due to take effect in the next several years; team members have identified three connection points in Hillsborough County that currently exceed the new proposed limits and are evaluating engineering fixes and a water‑quality study that will be brought to the board early next year.

Council members thanked Tampa Bay Water for the update and acknowledged the intergovernmental cooperation needed for the pipeline and well‑field projects.