Most of Tampa's drinking water is treated surface water
from the Hillsborough River. The river begins in the Green Swamp and
winds its way through Tampa to Hillsborough Bay. In Tampa's Sulphur
Springs area, the river reaches the Hillsborough River Dam. The
reservoir holds Tampa's primary drinking water source, which is treated
at the adjacent David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility.
To provide a dependable
alternative to a scattered system of poor quality wells, the City
of Tampa constructed the David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility in
1924. Restored to its original Moorish-Spanish decor, it is designated
an American Water Landmark. While the architecture of Tampa's original
water treatment plant has been preserved, the treatment process
continues to change and improve as technology advances. The plant houses
Tampa's state-certified Water Quality Laboratory. Throughout the
treatment process, continuous and complete water analyses ensure
that Tampa's water quality exceeds all State and Federal standards.
The David L. Tippin Water
Treatment Facility produces around 90 percent of the water that is
consumed by Tampa Water Department customers and is one of the largest
surface water treatment plants in Florida. After treatment, the
finished water is pumped through 2,300 miles of pipe to the more than
560,000 people served by the Tampa Water Department (TWD).
In 1978, Tampa's Morris Bridge Water Treatment Plant (MBWTP) was
completed to provide additional pumping capacity during the seasonal dry
periods and as a repump station to meet daily peak demands when needed.
The plant was designed to process approximately 40 million gallons a day.
Morris Bridge Well Field was the source water for the plant.
In 1998, the Morris Bridge Well Field was sold to Tampa Bay Water.
Currently, the MBWTP while still maintaining its capacity to treat
groundwater, is connected to the Tampa Bay Water pipeline that carries
potable water. The City purchases the potable water, during the dry
season as needed, through this MBWTP connection point to Tampa Bay
Water. The potable water from Tampa Bay Water receives further chemical
adjustments for optimum fluoride, disinfectant and pH adjustment before
it is distributed to the customers. The MBTWP also functions as a high
service pump station.
Tampa's Drinking Water Treatment
Process
Tampa's demand for
water averages about 65 million gallons a day. Most of the demand,
pumped from the Hillsborough River reservoir, is treated with a
six-step process prior to being stored in large underground tanks
called clearwells.
Step 1: Rapid Mix
Naturally occurring organic matter found in Florida
streams and rivers gives the Hillsborough River its tea-like color.
A coagulant, ferric sulfate, and sulfuric acid are added to the
water, and they react with the organic matter to form substances
called floc.
After flocculation the water flows into rectangular
settling basins. As the water moves down the length of the basin,
the floc settles to the bottom. Clear, settled water is collected at
the end of the basins. Computerized traveling siphon bridges clean
the bottom of the basins, and floc vacuumed from the bottom is
further treated and removed.
Clear, settled water is collected at the end of the
settling basins and treated with ozone in a large rectangular ozone
contactor. Ozone is a strong oxidant capable of destroying harmful
bacteria and viruses and inactivating microbial pathogens such as
Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Ozone also destroys taste-
and odor-causing compounds. Lime is added to the water after
ozonation to stabilize the pH of the treated water. Fluoride is
added to provide dental health benefits.
The disinfected water is filtered through mixed bed
filters containing sand and activated carbon coal to remove any
remaining particles. The filters are periodically backwashed to
remove collected particles. An automated, computerized backwash
program removes dirty filters from service and begins a
reversed-flow washing process. Air scouring helps dislodge material
collected in the filter media. Backwash water removes dislodged
material to a thickener tank for reclamation. After settling in the
thickener, the backwash water is recycled to the beginning of the
treatment stream for reprocessing. Solids collected in the thickener
are removed for dewatering and disposal.
After filtration, chlorine and ammonia are added to
the treated water to prepare it for storage. The combination of
ammonia and chlorine produce a disinfectant called monochloramine.
Monochloramine is the final residual disinfectant for the finished
water. It maintains the disinfectant integrity of the water in the
distribution system and inhibits the formation of byproducts that
may form when only chlorine is used. Sodium hydroxide is added to
produce the final desired drinking water pH before storage for later
distribution. High service process pumps send the finished water
from storage.
Finished water is stored in large cement underground
tanks called clearwells. High service process pumps send the
finished water from storage to Tampa's water distribution system to
meet the demand for drinking water.
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