Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Community report
Pipeline to cost $9-million with lots of digging
By ANDREW MEACHAM
Published April 28, 2006
A proposed water pipeline could add 19-million gallons a day to eastern Hillsborough's drinking water supply. It will also tear up the ground beside roadways. If approved by the region's water utility, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Hillsborough County Commission, the 4-mile pipeline will cost Tampa Bay Water about $9-million. Work on the pipeline would begin late in 2007 and last until early 2009. Laying pipe through Valrico, Brandon and Seffner will disrupt neighborhoods, Tampa Bay Water officials say. That's why the utility scheduled a meeting last Thursday at Seffner Elementary to solicit reactions from neighbors. "We've heard the concerns, and we want to keep residents informed," said Mandi Rice, the pipeline's project manager. Crews will move one block at a time, Rice said, and stay in each location for about a week. Contractors will cover up their work before moving on to the next block. Most of the pipe will be buried beside roads in Hillsborough County's right of way. At times, workers may also route the pipe beneath streets to avoid trees or utility poles. "Citizens will be concerned with impact to traffic, whether they will be able to get in and out of their driveway, how their sidewalks will be affected," said Tampa Bay Water spokeswoman Michelle Robinson. The pipeline would lie about 3 feet below ground starting at a collection of wells at W Wheeler Road at Lenna Avenue. It would head east to Seffner Valrico Road, then jigsaw to the south and west before ending at Lithia-Pinecrest Road. When completed, it will link well fields that supply water to eastern Hillsborough County with the regional water supply system. The project should improve water quality and pressure, officials say. Connecting well fields in Brandon and Lithia to the regional system adds up to 19-million gallons a day to the water supply, Robinson said. She predicted that residents will see the long term benefits. "Folks tend to understand that a pipeline is a temporary inconvenience," Robinson said. Andrew Meacham can be reached at 661-2431 or ameacham@sptimes.com.
[Last modified April 27, 2006, 14:10:00]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
