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TECO Signs Deal For Reclaimed Water

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By RUSSELL RAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 31, 2009

The City of Lakeland dumps a large amount of reclaimed water into Tampa Bay every day.

Under a deal announced today with Tampa Electric and the Southwest Florida Water Management District, much of that treated wastewater will be rerouted to TECO's Polk Power Station near Mulberry.

"It's going to greatly reduce the amount of groundwater we have to utilize out there," said TECO spokesman Rick Morera. "It will also eliminate this reclaimed water from being dumped into the bay."

Under a 30-year contract, Lakeland will provide the power plant up to 5 million gallons of reclaimed water each day beginning by December 2012.

The deal calls for the construction of a 15-mile pipeline, a pumping station and injection wells. The cost: $88 million. The bulk of the project - $55 million – will be financed by TECO. The remaining $33 million will come from Swiftmud.

"The benefit for us is that we'll have a steady stream of water that we'll be able to utilize for future plant expansions," Morera said.

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870.

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