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Seminole wary of desalination wells
By MAUREEN BYRNE AHERN SEMINOLE -- Not one of the proposed wells for a desalination plant is in Seminole, but that hasn't stopped elected officials there from expressing concerns. That's because some of those wells could end up in Seminole through annexation. At a two-hour meeting Monday night at Seminole Community Library, the council members echoed the fear of many homeowners who live near possible well sites: sinkholes. "There's got to be a better way to do this than take a chance on creating even one sinkhole," said council member Paul Trexler. The 80 people in the audience clapped loudly. Tampa Bay Water wants to pump about 6-million gallons of brackish water per day from 14 wells. The water would be pumped through pipelines to a desalination plant, which would be built near 102nd Avenue N and 66th Street in Pinellas Park. Brackish water has less salt content than sea water and is cheaper to clean. About 5-million gallons of desalinated water would be disinfected and piped into the drinking water system for distribution to homes and businesses. The 1-million gallons of saltwater concentrate produced would be injected into a portion of the aquifer about 1,000 feet below the ground. Tampa Bay Water officials have said repeatedly that the project won't harm the environment or cause sinkholes, but some homeowners who live near the potential well sites don't believe them. "You're experimenting with our investments," said Joe Sammarco, who is building a home in the Bardmoor area off Starkey Road, where some of the wells would be built. Geologic conditions make the mid- and south-Pinellas areas less prone to sinkholes, project manager Mike Coates said. If the pumping did cause a problem, he said, the utility would pay for repairs. Also, if the production adversely impacted private wells that existed before the project, the agency would repair or replace the wells. Tampa Bay officials have trimmed a list of about 40 potential well sites to 17 preferred sites and 11 alternate sites. They are on public and private properties in an area south of East Bay Drive, north of Park Boulevard, east of Lake Seminole and west of 66th Street. The locations include churches, public schools, Lake Seminole Park, Bardmoor Golf Course and sections along the CSX railroad track. The wells will be about 300 feet deep. The project, which would cost between $19-million and $24-million, is part of Tampa Bay Water's efforts to meet the area's long-term drinking water needs. In Apollo Beach in Hillsborough County, a desal plant capable of generating 25-million gallons a day of tap water is expected to begin delivering drinking water by the end of this month. And officials are pursuing a second, 25-million-gallon desalination plant, which is planned for a site where the Anclote River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The permit application is scheduled to go before the board next summer. If approved, it will move to the Southwest Florida Water Management District, where review will take 12 to 18 months. If a permit is granted, construction could begin in the spring of 2005.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
