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Lithia: State's largest reservoir nears finish

The reservoir's 15-billion-gallon capacity could supply one-fourth of the region's drinking water for six months.

By EDDY RAMIREZ
Published November 26, 2004

LITHIA - The men in hard hats and orange vests are standing at the crest of this once vast, dusty bowl 60 feet above ground, putting the finishing touches on what will be the state's largest drinking water reservoir.

Already, some 600 million gallons of rainwater have collected inside, enough so that at least several alligators, one measuring 6 feet long, have made this their new home.

"We're in the home stretch," said Amanda Rice, the project manager."It's very exciting to see the project come to a conclusion."

Tampa Bay Water had originally planned to begin pumping water into the reservoir from the Alafia and Hillsborough rivers over the summer.

But delays, caused in part by the onslaught of heavy rains from the recent hurricanes, have pushed the yearlong process of filling the reservoir back to early January.

The massive storage facility in south Hillsborough County will hold up to 15 billion gallons of water. That is 33 times the volume of the James Raymond Stadium and enough to supply one-fourth of the region's drinking water for six months.

The regional water authority says the delays won't inconvenience water customers or cost the county more money. Instead, the construction firm will use insurance monies to pay the extra $489,029. The total price tag on the reservoir, which has been officially named the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir after the U.S. congressman, is $150 million.

Work on the project slowed after hurricanes Frances and Jeanne together dumped 15 inches of rain on the region, eroding the exterior slopes of the reservoir.

Crews have been busy laying sod on an embankment that had eroded and paving the reservoir's perimeter roads.

Not all the cost overruns were related to hurricane damage.

A recent nationwide cement shortage added to the overall price tag of the project and further delayed construction.

Work on the reservoir began in June 2002. Water will be diverted from the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers to fill the cistern during rainy seasons. During dry times, the water will be used by customers in Tampa and Pinellas County.

Tampa Bay Water downplayed the delays, saying that even if construction had been completed by Nov. 14, as scheduled, little or no water could have been pumped into the reservoir. River levels are too low because of a recent dry spell, said the Warren Hogg, a manager who analyzes water flows for the water authority.

-Eddy Ramirez can be reached at eramirez@sptimes.com or call 661-2441.

[Last modified November 24, 2004, 09:15:16]