To meet the long-term water needs of this area, Tampa Bay Water is building a new South Hillsborough Pipeline that will carry up to 65 million gallons per day of additional drinking water to the fast-growing Southern Hillsborough County service area.
The project will run for 26 miles with the pipes installed up to 60 inches in diameter and carry a price tag of $505.7M, with up to $84M funded by Hillsborough County. Construction is expected to start as early as fall 2025, with an anticipated completion date in spring 2029 although the pipeline is expected to be in service late by 2028.
The pipeline will start at Tampa Bay Water’s Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant in Brandon, connect to Hillsborough County’s Lithia Water Treatment Plant and end at the county’s new connection point at Balm Riverview and Balm roads. The pipeline will provide redundancy between the Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant in Brandon and Hillsborough County’s Lithia Water Treatment Plant.
Tampa Bay Water is conducting several community meetings along the South Hillsborough Pipeline route. These community meetings will allow staff to share information and answer questions.
In order to hear information that is most relevant to you, please review the map and attend the meeting whose section is closest to your home or business. Residents along the route will receive an invitation postcard indicating which meeting they should attend.
Each meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with an open house where attendees can peruse maps and informational boards and ask questions of project staff in attendance. Then at 7 p.m., Tampa Bay Water staff will make a formal presentation on the project, followed by a question-and-answer period.
When asked about the impact this project will have on residents, Brandon Moore, public communications manager of Tampa Bay Water, summed the project up perfectly with the simple statement “short-term pain for long-term gain,” stating, “It’s been 20 years since the Tampa Bay area has had a pipeline project of this scale.”
It was apparent that the project team had spent a significant amount of time planning the project around minimizing the impact on those that live in the area.
Tampa Bay Water’s engineering consultants analyzed 10 routes (five northern segments and five southern segments), resulting in a shortlist of three top-ranked consolidated routes. The routes were evaluated against 13 selection criteria, which included noncost factors, such as public inconvenience, safety, environmental impacts and permitting, as well as project cost.
Sam Flowers, construction manager of Garney Construction, added, “To expedite the project, crews are working Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Crews will be able to lay up to 50 ft. of pipe per shift (2-25 ft. pipe segments), and we will employ multiple crews.”
Some night work is planned to minimize impacts on local businesses.
Three-block (street) rolling closures will be used, with the process being: Forward Block (staging of equipment and dewatering), Center Block (open cut pipe installation) and Trailing Block (restoration). The dewatering process is to keep groundwater out of the site with noise-minimizing water pumps running 24 hours a day until construction in that area is complete.
Tampa Bay Water and Garney Construction’s team of nearly 20 staff were available to answer all questions at the first meeting held at the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library on January 14. It is highly suggested that anyone in the path of construction attend the meeting closest to where they live or work.
Those in and around constriction zones may experience road closures, detours, noise, dust and possibly short-term interruptions for water/sewer at times when utility relocation is needed. Most construction impacts will be between 30-180 days, with some lasting longer. Equipment will be staged in the right-of-way wherever possible to minimize resident impacts.
Upcoming meetings are scheduled for:
- Thursday, January 30, at 6:30 p.m. — Section 2.
- Burns Middle School — Cafeteria, 615 Brooker Rd. in Brandon.
- Tuesday, February 4, at 6:30 p.m. — Section 4.
- St. Stephen Church — Family Life Center Building, 10118 St. Stephen Cir. in Riverview.
- Thursday, February 6, at 6:30 p.m. — Section 6.
- Barrington Middle School — Cafeteria, 5925 Village Center Dr. in Lithia.
- Tuesday, February 11, at 6:30 p.m. — Section 5.
- St. Stephen Church — Family Life Center Building, 10118 St. Stephen Cir. in Riverview.
- Wednesday, February 12, at 6 p.m. — Virtual Meeting.
- For those that cannot attend a meeting in person, a virtual meeting will be conducted via Zoom. Details for this meeting will be posted to this website prior to the meeting.
Forty-five-foot shafts will be drilled on both sides of the Alafia River to tunnel under the river, with 10-12 depths typical of under roads. Moore mentioned, “Our first option was to follow Kings Road south under the river, but the swimming academy on the opposite side prevented that. We were fortunate to find and purchase two vacant lots on either side of the Alafia just west of Kings Road.” He added, “There will be no impact on boaters using the river as all work will be completed underground.”
In areas where residential and business accesses are impacted, on-site ‘community coordinators’ will be hired as part of the project, and job openings will be posted when available. Coordinators will be supplied with golf carts and will be responsible for assisting residents navigating the construction zone seven days a week on a 24/7 basis. Duties will include mail and package delivery, resident parking, trash pickup and caddy services.
Visit www.tampabaywater.org/shp for information and project updates. An interactive map is available at https://southhillsboroughpipeline.com/interactive-map/.
You may also opt-in to receive notices by sending an email to shpinfo@tampabaywater.org or by calling 813-485-6480.
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