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Water Board Will Sue Reservoir Companies

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

cwade@tampatrib.com

Published: October 21, 2008

CLEARWATER - The Tampa Bay Water board voted Monday to sue the three companies that designed or built the now-crack-ridden wall of the C.W. Bill Young Reservoir.

With little discussion, the board unanimously approved moving forward with litigation against HDR Engineering, Barnard Construction and Construction Dynamics Group.

A preliminary investigation has determined the cracks were caused either during the design, construction or oversight of the project. HDR designed the reservoir, Barnard was the lead construction contractor and Construction Dynamics oversaw building.

"It's paramount that the public interest be protected," said board member and Tampa City Councilman Charlie Miranda, "so that future costs are not borne by taxpayers."

HDR officials said Monday that they were disappointed by the board's decision and had hoped to avoid "costly" litigation by working with Tampa Bay Water to find a solution.

"It is our belief that a great many questions remain to be answered as to the soil-cement issues at the reservoir, and any legal action is premature," the company said in a statement.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

The $146 million reservoir, the largest in Florida, was built in 2005. Its capacity is 15 billion gallons but it now contains less than half that because water managers want to empty the reservoir to study the cracks and make repairs.

The first cracks appeared in the soil-cement covering of the reservoir's inner walls in December 2006. They've become more widespread in the northeast and southwest corners of the 930-acre reservoir in southeast Hillsborough County. So far, Tampa Bay Water has spent about $1 million to investigate and fix the cracks.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

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