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Low Hillsborough River Means Higher Prices For Tampa Water

Photo from City of Temple Terrace

This photo, taken June 12 at Rotary Park on Fowler Avenue, shows how low the water level in the Hillsborough River has fallen.

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 17, 2008

TAMPA - A tardy and fitful start to the summer rainy season means the Hillsborough River is lower than it should be in the middle of June and is costing Tampa water customers about $44,000 a day.

At Morris Bridge Road, the river is less than 6 inches above a record low set in 1985. Upstream near Zephyrhills, the river is a few inches above a 1977 record low.

A U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Flower Avenue has not worked for days, possibly because the river is too low to measure, said Todd Hamill, hydrologic forecaster at the Southeast River Forecast Center in Georgia.

Though the summer rainfall pattern seemed to be settling into place the past week, rain is still spotty and has not reached the widespread coverage necessary to pull the river level up, Hamill said.

Rainfall this month across much of northeast Hillsborough County and southeast Pasco County, which make up the Hillsborough River watershed, is between 25 percent and 50 percent below normal.

It's the same story at Green Swamp, the river's headwaters.

The river level at Tampa's dam on the Hillsborough, where the city gets the majority of its water, is 17.5 feet. The reservoir is full when the river reaches 23.5 feet.

This is after a late winter and early spring that saw rainfall a bit above average. A dry May, though, took away most of that gain.

In April, the Hillsborough River level at Zephyrhills was an 82 in a range of 1 to 100, according to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. At the end of May, it was a 27.

Because the river is low, Tampa had to start buying water from Tampa Bay Water, the regional water utility, in early May and continues to purchase water to supply the full 85 million to 95 million gallons of water that residents use each day.

The city now is buying about 20 million gallons a day from the utility, said Elias Franco, spokesman for the city's water department.

At $2.21 for every 1,000 gallons, 20 million gallons costs $44,000 a day. The cost is passed on to the city's water users through their water bills.

"We expect with the afternoon rains to cut that to nothing," Franco said.

The city also has been getting 8 million to 10 million gallons a day from water treated during the rainy season and stored underground.

That supply, though, is about exhausted, Franco said. The city usually shuts down that source about the end of June and replenishes it during the rainy season.

The city gets its water from the river, Tampa Bypass Canal and the stored supply and buys the rest it needs from Tampa Bay Water.

During the rainy season, Tampa sometimes has enough excess water to sell to Tampa Bay Water.

Though some rivers in the Tampa Bay region -- such as the Alafia River -- fill quickly from rain, the Hillsborough River responds slowly, Hamill said.

A deluge of 5 to 8 inches over a couple days would provide temporary relief, sending a slug of water down the river and raising the water level. But it wouldn't last.

"The river would rise quickly but fall quickly, too," Hamill said.

If the summer rain pattern continues, it may take until July or even August to see a real improvement in the river system and groundwater levels, he said.

The low river has prompted the Temple Terrace River Watch Task Force to schedule a meeting for 9 a.m. June 26 to discuss the problem. The meeting will start at 9 a.m. at Rotary Riverfront Park on Fowler Avenue.

Among the concerns for Temple Terrace: The river is too low for the city police marine unit to patrol the river, and boat launches are above water.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731 or njohnson@tampatrib.com.

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