Oldsmar inches closer to own water supply

Having learned that there is enough water under-

By ED QUIOCO

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 23, 2001

OLDSMAR -- City officials decided Tuesday night to take the next step toward having their own water treatment facility to pump, filter and distribute drinking water to Oldsmar residents.

City Council members unanimously approved the second phase of the project, which began more than three years ago. The new phase, which will cost about $569,000 and take about 16 months to complete, includes sinking a pilot well for tests and more study.

"At the end of this phase, I'll be able to come to you with enough information where you can make an informed decision as to whether you want to proceed with the Oldsmar water supply project," said Douglas Eckmann, a principal engineer with Boyle Engineering Corp.

Council members also voted to hire Boyle Engineering to do the studies for the second phase. In a first set of studies three years ago, the company determined that there was enough water underground to supply the city and that it was feasible for the city to move forward with the project.

The city will receive about $189,000 from the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, or Swiftmud, to help pay for the test well. The city will cover the rest of the cost for the second phase.

"If you decide to move forward from there, then that would be phase three, which would be the actual design and permitting of a facility," Eckmann told council members. "If the project moves forward on a reasonable schedule, we would be starting up a facility and getting it online in July of 2006."

The first set of studies determined that the city could build a treatment plant that would use a process called reverse osmosis to treat 3.2-million gallons a day of underground brackish water, which has about 10 percent of the salt found in seawater.

The second phase also will study how water rates would be affected by this project and how to dispose of the salty concentrate created during the filtering process. One way that will be studied is disposing of the concentrate in a "marine water body," and the other way is through a "deep-well injection system," according to city records.

The city spends more than $1-million a year to buy water from St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. The proposed $15-million plant would end Oldsmar's reliance on those municipalities for drinking water.

The project was delayed when Swiftmud ranked the project too low to receive funding about two years ago. But the city reapplied and was awarded the $189,000 grant in May. Because the basin board is not allowed to commit money beyond a year, Oldsmar will have to reapply for funding every year.

"We are ready to go with this project," said city public works director John Mulvihill.

- Staff writer Ed Quioco can be reached at (727) 445-4183.

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