June 2018 – With adequate water flow important for the health of the Hillsborough River, the City of Tampa continues to look at innovative ways to enhance their potable water supply and leave them less dependent on water from the Hillsborough River. TAP, an acronym for Tampa Augmentation Project, is Tampa’s latest attempt to deliver reclaimed, or treated wastewater, to customers’ taps for potable purposes. Ms. Seung Park, of Tampa’s Water Department, briefed the River Board’s Technical Advisory Council on the project at their May 15, 2018 meeting.

This latest incarnation of a wastewater reuse project would inject treated wastewater into a deep aquifer and withdraw the water from a shallower aquifer after some 30 days of movement though layers of underground limestone. The first phase of the feasibility study is expected to conclude this summer. The next phase of study will then begin with additional testing and pilot project monitoring. Ms. Park was asked about the potential for Contaminants of Concern (COCs) in the water supply such as pharmaceuticals, hormones, etc. She said a recent test did not find detectable levels for most COCs, except for the artificial sweetener Sucralose, but said more testing is necessary.