The Southwest Florida Water Management District issued a water shortage emergency order Tuesday that allows Tampa Bay Water to withdraw additional water from the Alafia River to store in the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir in anticipation of the upcoming dry season.
As of July 22, the reservoir had only about 4.24 billion gallons in storage.
When full, the reservoir stores approximately 15 billion gallons of water.
The executive order, which is in effect through Sept. 30, allows Tampa Bay Water to take up to 19 percent of the flow from the Alafia River. Its current water use permit allows withdrawals of 10 percent of the flows. However, the existing permit condition that forbids withdrawals when the average daily flow is less than 124 cubic feet per second remains in effect. Extensive minimum flow studies of the river demonstrate that these temporary withdrawals pose no significant threat to the ecology of the river.
“The recent rains have been beneficial in helping the area recover from the prolonged drought but aquifer levels remain low and surface water levels are still below normal,” said David Moore, District executive director. “This action will help the region prepare for the dry season ahead.”
Tampa Bay Water, the region’s wholesale water supplier, stores water in the reservoir for use during the dry season or when other supplies are not sufficient to meet potable water demand.
Tampa Bay Water provides water to Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, as well as the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa.