Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Not being pennywise would be water foolish

By HOWARD TROXLER
Published August 11, 2005

The alligators are a mystery. They contentedly line the banks of the immense artificial lake in southeast Hillsborough County that, these days, is steadily filling up with diverted river water. The best anybody can figure is that the gators scaled a berm of up to 65 feet, then belly-slid their way down to their own private gatorville.

This 1,100-acre lake, 5 miles around, is called the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, named for the St. Petersburg congressman who got the money for it. When it is full this fall it will hold 15-billion gallons, enough to get the Tampa Bay area through even an eight-month dry season.

A half-hour to the northwest, near the Florida State Fairgrounds, a shiny new water treatment plant is drawing from the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers. It also can draw from the reservoir. This plant can produce up to 66-million gallons a day.

The third leg of Tampa Bay's new water supply triangle stands on the eastern shore of the bay, next door to Tampa Electric Co.'s Big Bend Power Plant. It is the much-delayed, much-troubled desalination plant. Once it finally works, it'll be good for up to 25-million gallons a day.

None of these facilities existed five years ago. All three exist today for the same purpose: to reduce the groundwater pumping of Tampa Bay Water, that public utility that supplies Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties and their largest cities.

Overall, it's working. Pumping is down.

The only trouble is the desal plant.

Some things about that plant will always irk me. I remember the roomful of fast-talking consultants in the late '90s who sold us the $100-million gizmo. They built it, and it didn't work.

If I were king, all the local mayors and county commissioners who made up Tampa Bay Water's board since 1998 would have to wear big signs saying, "I built a desal plan that didn't work."

But let us not dwell on the past. Today, there are two things that matter:

(1) Tampa Bay Water has a pretty good shot at getting the plant fixed by late 2006. That will be cool. I am a sucker for $100-million gizmos that actually work.

(2) Once the plant is fixed, Tampa Bay Water needs to have the freedom to decide at what level to operate it on any given day, in the best interests of us customers.

Yet that second point is in dispute. A big fight is brewing.

Some people are complaining: "Wait a minute! You've spent all this dough on a desal plant, and now you're saying you might NOT run it at full tilt all the time?"

In particular, this complaint is coming from the state water district for this part of Florida. I always hate typing its long, bureaucratic name: Southwest Florida Water Management District.

That outfit agreed to kick in up to $85-million for the plant. Now its lawyers are harrumphing that they didn't know they were buying a mere "peaking plant" instead of a "full-time production facility."

Such language! The term "peaking plant" is meant to play up the insult factor, as if Tampa Bay Water were thumbing its nose: Ha, ha, you suckers! We stuck you for $85-million and now we ain't even gonna use it some of the time. Nyah, nyah!

I side with the Tampa Bay guys.

The surface-water plant, the reservoir and the desal plant all are essential pieces of our future supply. But their use at any given moment depends on conditions. Which source is most reliable? Best for the environment? What's the current tradeoff?

Price does matter. On top of the fixed costs, it costs 9 cents to pump every 1,000 gallons of groundwater. The same 1,000 gallons of groundwater costs 39 cents.

But 1,000 gallons of desalinated water costs $1.67.

So, even though the desal plant is essential, it is by far the most expensive option. If on any given day it does not make the most sense, well, that needs to be the operating judgment of Tampa Bay Water, in the same way that an electric company is the best judge of where to get its juice.

I am glad the state water district is being careful before throwing around $85-million of my money. But on balance, the state folks are getting what they agreed to pay for - reduced groundwater pumping. The Tampa Bay folks are developing new sources. In sum, it is possible that things are actually working out. Let's not fight.

[Last modified August 11, 2005, 00:42:17]