A new desalination plant near Tarpon Springs and an expansion of the existing plant in Apollo Beach are among projects being considered to meet the region's water needs through 2019.
Hillsborough County commissioners got a sneak preview Wednesday of 18 projects Tampa Bay Water, the regional water supplier, is studying. The list will be cut to eight or nine by 2012.
The county's water resource team supports a new desalination plant near the Anclote River and increasing maximum production at the Apollo Beach desalination plant from 25 million to 35 million gallons a day.
Water team manager Mario Cabana told commissioners that desalination - removing salt from seawater to make drinkable water - gives Tampa Bay Water a "good mixture of water supplies" and is "drought proof."
While the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers are recording some of their lowest flows in history, the Apollo Beach desalination plant is pumping out an average 20 million gallons of fresh water a day.
Cabana recommended the commission reject a second reservoir in south Hillsborough. Water from a reservoir similar to the 15 million gallon C.W. "Bill" Young Regional Reservoir would cost $10 per 1,000 gallons.
"With 18 projects, why am I going to pick the highest-priced project?" Cabana said.
Other projects under consideration: taking more water from the Alafia River during high flows and storing treated wastewater underground.
Aquifer storage is promising as a way of preventing saltwater from pushing into the aquifer and could allow more groundwater to be pumped without harming the environment, Cabana said.
Tampa Bay Water's board will discuss the projects Monday at 8:30 a.m. in Clearwater.
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