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Plan To Use Sinkhole As Drinking Water Source Gets Hearing

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TBO.com

Published: February 9, 2009

The water management district has set a public meeting about a proposal to use a sinkhole as a source for the region's drinking water. The district wants to take water from Morris Bridge Road sinkhole near the Hillsborough River, first as a test, then to add to the region's drinking water supply.

The meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Tampa office at 7601 U.S. 301 N.

The district first intends to pump water from the sinkhole for 30 days starting later this month or in early March.

Once the test is over, Tampa Bay Water, the region's wholesale water supplier, has asked the water management district for permission to continue using the sinkhole as a water source.

In addition to water management district staff members, representatives of Tampa Bay Water and the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission will also be at the meeting to answer questions.

The test is a step toward permanently tapping the sinkhole as part of ensuring enough fresh water reaches downstream from Tampa's dam on the Hillsborough River. The pumping needs to begin by October 2012.

For more information, you can call (352) 796-7211, ext. 4222 or (800) 423-1476, ext. 4222.

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