2nd desal site poses money problem

Tampa Bay Water learns that Swiftmud intends to direct its funds toward reclaimed water projects.

By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 9, 2002

Tampa Bay Water officials, just two weeks away from choosing a site for the area's second desalination plant, have run into an unexpected problem: how to pay for it.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will pay almost 70 percent of the cost for the first plant, which is under construction in Hillsborough County on Tampa Bay. But the second plant, proposed for one of six sites near the Anclote River along the Pinellas-Pasco border, is another matter.

"I think probably in the back of our minds we thought it would be kind of the same split as what we had for the first (plant)," said Ann Hildebrand, chairwoman of the Tampa Bay Water board.

But late last month Swiftmud board members told Tampa Bay Water officials they are now looking to put their new money into reclaimed water projects, or treated wastewater.

That leaves Tampa Bay Water officials stumped on how to pay for a desalination project they've been planning for eight months.

A lack of Swiftmud funding won't kill the project, says Hildebrand, also a Pasco County commissioner. But it could lead to higher water rates for customers in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

Asked where else Tampa Bay Water would turn for funding, she said, "If I was a gypsy with a pot of tea leaves, I would tell you. But I don't know. ... "

It wasn't until late January, eight months into planning for the project and after a tour of potential sites with Swiftmud officials, that Tampa Bay Water officially made its pitch to the water management board.

The answer wasn't what they expected.

"We made the statement that we wanted to look at reuse in a regional way," said Ronnie Duncan, chairman of Swiftmud's governing board and a Tarpon Springs developer.

"The thinking of the board is that we need to look under every stone before anyone goes and spends $300-million plus on a desal plant."

Hildebrand requested a workshop in the next two to three months for members of both boards to hash out the issues. She's optimistic they'll work something out.

"I'm not daunted at all," she said.

If they don't work something out, rates that are expected to double over the next decade for customers in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties could go even higher, she said.

The first plant, now halfway complete and totaling $123-million, is overcoming problems of its own after fears arose that the company building the massive plant could be sliding into bankruptcy.

That first plant will help reduce Pasco and Hillsborough's groundwater pumping from 158-million gallons of water a day in 2000 to 90-million in 2008.

This second plant, expected to be complete by 2008, will help supply the region with badly needed water through 2014, Hildebrand said.

Tampa Bay Water decided to pursue the second plant last June. The group held public hearings about it and toured potential sites near the Anclote River on the Pasco-Pinellas border.

But a philosophical difference has come between Tampa Bay Water and its chief financier, Swiftmud.

Swiftmud's Duncan says a second desalination plant is not off the table. But his agency first wants to see area governments and Tampa Bay Water capture some of the 128-million gallons of treated wastewater flowing into waterways every day. Instead that treated wastewater could be used for irrigation and reduce the demand for groundwater.

That option could be both cheaper -- $150-million to build pipes connecting the three counties -- than the second desalination plant and conserve more water, Duncan said.

But Pasco County utilities chief Doug Bramlett echoed Hildebrand's concerns about chasing that option without pursuing a desalination plant at the same time.

He said a regional network for reclaimed wastewater could cost far more than the $150-million Duncan estimated. That's because local subdivisions and neighborhoods would need to be tied into the system, Bramlett said, which could lead to new impact fees for homeowners. Also, he thinks it could take years for local cities and counties to work through agreements to share the treated wastewater, which might not be enough to meet the area's needs.

"I think that Swiftmud should be supporting both projects simultaneously," Bramlett said. "If they try to put all the eggs in one basket . . . that wastewater is going to be the panacea to solve all the problems, it ain't going to happen."

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