A new water supply booster station under construction will go a long way in helping to keep up with the water supply needs of the growing population in Southern Hillsborough County, but the promise of a reliable water flow from taps and spigots comes with a bit of traffic inconvenience for some residents.
Construction of Tampa Bay Water’s Brandon Booster Station requires closing of S. Mount Carmel Rd. between Lumsden and Durant Rds. during certain phases of the work. According to a news release, Tampa Bay Water anticipates three periods of road closures, with the first one occurring now until about Saturday, May 21.
Access to S. Mount Carmel Rd. will be maintained for residents with through-traffic rerouted on Durant, Lumsden, and Valrico Rds. Mandalay Rd.is also closed to through traffic because it is a narrow residential street.
The closures allow installation of pipelines along S. Mount Carmel Rd. that will connect the utility’s water transmission main on Durant Rd. to the new booster station.
The new booster station will increase the volume of water delivered to the Hillsborough County Lithia Water Treatment Plant by 5-7 million gallons of water daily.
Nearby residents should not notice the booster station once it is operating, according to information on Tampa Bay Water’s website, which describes the facility as an approximately 6,500-square-foot building that will house pumps and electrical equipment. A construction rendering shows a design that would not be out of place in a suburban office park or residential area. Landscaping is designed to minimize the station’s presence, and lighting will be configured to provide security with minimal illumination beyond the property. The cost of the project is $19.8 million with construction expected to continue through late 2023.
Projects like the booster station are needed to meet the water needs of the region, according to Justin Fox, an engineering manager for Tampa Bay Water, who compared the water pressure boost the facility will provide to what happens when turning on the faucet at home.
“If you have a lot of pressure when you turn it on, more water’s going to come out of that faucet,” he said during a public online meeting about the project in February. “We’re going to boost pressure so that we can get more water to residents that need it.”
You can learn more about the Brandon Booster Station project by visiting tampabaywater.org.
