The Southwest Florida Water Management District and the City of Tarpon Springs are working on a project that will increase reclaimed water storage, allowing the city to effectively manage reclaimed water production and supply throughout the year while adding more reclaimed water customers.
The project consists of the design and construction of a 3-million-gallon ground storage tank and the piping needed to efficiently control flow of reclaimed water from the plant to the distribution center.
The city is currently using an annual average of more than 50 percent of its available reclaimed water, which has led to severe supply shortages during the dry season.
The project goals are to provide the greatest reclaimed water storage volume per dollar, to conserve potable-quality water and to minimize the amount of treated wastewater effluent being discharged to the Anclote River.
The project is estimated to cost $1.35 million, which will be equally funded by Tarpon Springs and the District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board.
The design phase is scheduled to begin in September. Construction is expected to begin by June 2007 and be complete by September 2008.