Tampa Bay Water (TBW) is a regional wholesale drinking water utility that serves customers in the Tampa Bay, Florida region. The agency is a

special district Special district may refer to: * Certain districts of Ethiopia not part of a zone * Special district (United States) Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, limited purpose entities, or special-pu ...

of the state created by inter-local agreement among six member governments. A nine-member board of directors composed of two elected commissioners from each member county and one elected representative from each member city oversees the policy decisions of the agency. The member governments that make up the board of directors are: The cities of

New Port Richey New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History B ...

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, and

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

, and Hillsborough County,

Pasco County Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pasco ...

, and

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical ...

. These member governments provide water to over 2.5 million citizens. Tampa Bay Water, formerly the West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority, was created in 1998 to deliver drinking water in an environmentally sound, cost-effective and reliable manner. To achieve these goals, the Agency created a diversified water supply system to reduce dependence on a sole source—groundwater. The regional utility built the

C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir The C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir is a Tampa Bay WaterC.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir reservoir which collects water from the Alafia and Hillsborough Rivers in central Florida. It is named for C.W. Bill Young, the U.S. Congressman from Fl ...

of , a seawater

desalination Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in Soil salinity control, soil desalination, which is an issue f ...

plant with a maximum output of per day, a surface water treatment plant with a maximum output of per day, and interconnected more than of large-diameter pipeline. The system spans over to deliver drinking water at an average rate of per day. The region's water sources are: * Surface water from the

Alafia River The Alafia River is long, with a watershed of in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, flowing into Tampa Bay. The watershed contains ten named lakes and ponds, and 29 named rivers, streams and canals. During the rainy season, excess w ...

, Hillsborough River and

Tampa Bypass Canal The Tampa Bypass Canal and Palm River are a flood bypass operated by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The canal includes several concrete flood control structures and was constructed during the 1960s and 1970s. Its purpose is to re ...

* Reverse osmosis desalinated seawater from Tampa Bay * Groundwater from regional well fields

Board of directors

* Chairman: Sandra Murman, Hillsborough County Commissioner * Vice Chairman: Dave Eggers, Pinellas County Commissioner * Pat Gerard, Pinellas County Commissioner * Pat Kemp, Hillsborough County Commissioner * Rob Marlowe, Mayor, New Port Richey * Charlie Miranda, Tampa Councilman * Ron Oakley, Pasco County Commissioner * Darden Rice, St. Petersburg Councilwoman * Kathryn Starkey, Pasco County Commissioner

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.tampabaywater.org/ Government agencies established in 1998 1988 establishments in Florida Special districts of Florida Water companies of the United States Tampa Bay area