The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday amended and extended a permit that allows Tampa Bay Water to withdraw water from the Tampa Bypass Canal for water supply needs.
Tampa Bay Water, the region’s wholesale water supplier, provides water to Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, as well as the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa.
The modified permit allows Tampa Bay Water to increase the diversion rate from 30 percent to 40 percent of the flow over the City of Tampa’s dam, as long as the diversion of water from the Hillsborough River to the Tampa Bypass Canal leaves at least 100 cubic feet per second (cfs) going over Tampa’s dam and as long as the diversion rate does not exceed 194 million gallons per day (mgd).
Depending on conditions, the water may be withdrawn from the lower or middle pools of the Tampa Bypass Canal. When the stage in the lower pool is at or above 9 feet, the permit allows the withdrawal of 100 percent of the quantities in the lower pool up to the maximum permitted quantity of 258 mgd. When the stage in the middle pool is at or above 14 feet and the discharge over the District’s Structure 160 on the Tampa Bypass Canal is at or above 100 cfs, the permit allows the maximum permitted quantity to be withdrawn from the middle pool, as long as the combined quantities from the middle pool and the lower pool do not exceed the maximum permitted quantity of 258 mgd.
The permit expires Dec. 31, 2030.
As part of the permit, Tampa Bay Water must maintain its meters on existing withdrawal points and continue to confirm meter accuracy every five years. All meter, flow and other data must be reported to District each month.