Tampa Water Department History

The first record of a public water supply dates back to 1887, the year the City of Tampa was chartered, when the Tampa Water Works Company secured a 35-year franchise from the City. A total of 45 wells were drilled in an area north and west of today's downtown area. This endeavor was hampered by problems of poor water quality from the very beginning. Biologically, the water was satisfactory; but chemically, it left much to be desired. Total hardness frequently exceeded 700 ppm and salinity often soared to 1470 ppm. Of those wells, 21 were abandoned and the remaining 24 seldom furnished water that was suitable for general household use. As a result, numerous bottle water companies sprung up to fill the need for a potable water supply. The first Tampa Water Works customer applied for service in 1891.

The City of Tampa, anticipating the expiration of the Tampa Water Works Company's lease and realizing the need for an acceptable long-term water supply, started in 1922 to look for an adequate source. The Hillsborough River, which flowed into Tampa from a 640 square mile water shed, was chosen.

In 1923 the Tampa Water Works Company was purchased by the City for $1,350,722 and served a population of 73,500. The system consisted of 24 artesian wells, one spring, a steam operating pumping plant with a capacity of 13 mgd, and 60 miles of cast iron water distribution mains. The City began work on a new water treatment plant and pumping station on the south bank of the Hillsborough River at 30th Street, just upstream from Tampa Electric Company's dam, immediately after the purchase. This plant included its own steam plant, electrical generators, and steam-driven pumps. The treatment plant consisted of mixing and settling basins, rapid sand filters, clear well storage, chemical house, laboratory, and office and could supply 20 million gallons of quality potable water per day.

In 1924, the average daily water production was 7,665,000 gpd.

In 1933 rain from a series of large and complex thunderstorm cells produced severe flood stage conditions in the Hillsborough River, resulting in the collapse of the Tampa Electric Company's dam. The dam was not immediately replaced, and water had to be pumped from the river into the plant.

In 1944, eleven years after the failure of Tampa Electric Company's dam, the remainder of the dam was acquired by the City and a new dam and spillway were built. This dam was extended to the south to close off a section of the south bank of the river washed out by the flood, and the main tainter gates were installed.

A few years after the end of World War II, construction on new additions to the Water Plant began and were completed in 1948. With the new additions, the total deliverable capacity was more than doubled to 35 to 45 million gallons per day. This level was projected to meet demands for a period of at least 10 years.

In 1950, Tampa marked the occasion of its 50,000th connection to the system. During the early and middle 1950s, large industrial areas were developed bringing in industries having very high water demands. Close attention to these developments indicated the need for much additional capacity than was earlier anticipated in 1948, therefore, planning of new facilities was immediately undertaken and in 1959 a new expansion program that brought the total treatment capacity to a maximum of 71 million gallons per day was completed.

In the flood of 1960, many of the flash boards on the crest of the spillway failed, and in 1963-64, new power-operated, crest tainter gates were installed to replace the flash boards. In the closed position, these gates maintain a reservoir pool elevation of 22.5 feet MSL. The minimum elevation to which the reservoir pool can be drawn is 12.0 feet MSL. Between these two limits, the reservoir impoundment is estimated at 1,600 million gallons. The 100,000th customer water connection was made in 1964.

By 1971 water demand exceeded treatment and pumping capacity in the dry season and in response, sprinkling restrictions were initiated in 1972. In 1976 construction of a new $700,000 sludge-processing facility to help prevent the pollution of the Hillsborough River was completed. The $13.2 million Morris Bridge Treatment Plant came online in August 1979 to process groundwater from the 20 wells in the Morris Bridge wellfield. The plant increased Tampa's water treatment capacity by 40 million gallons a day and used unique energy saving roof-top filters which allowed the water pumped from the wellfield to utilize gravity to move it to storage tanks instead of repumping. In 1979, Tampa served over 400,000 people an average of 55 million gallons a day through over 1,700 miles of distribution pipe.

The newly renovated Moorish-Spanish Revival style filter building at the Hillsborough River Water Treatment Plant was designated an American Water Landmark by the American Water Works Association in 1983. Tampa began an aggressive water conservation program in 1989 focusing on special projects, in-school education, public awareness initiatives, water conservation rates and conservation codes.

Tampa took the lead in surface water research among the largest surface water utilities in the country by initiating the multi-year "Water Quality 2000" Project in 1996. Water Quality 2000 was a series of water treatment improvement projects and research to chart Tampa's future water treatment and ensure exceptional water quality at reasonable costs well into the 21st century. It was created to meet public expectations about water quality and comply with anticipated new regulatory water quality standards. The Morris Bridge wellfield was sold to Tampa Bay Water in 1998 when the regional water supplier was formed with the goal of reducing regional groundwater pumping through the cooperative development of new alternative water supplies.

After the record-breaking rains of El Nino in 1998, Tampa faced record rain shortfalls in one of the worst droughts in recorded history in 2000 resulting in the first one-day-a-week irrigation restrictions being enacted. In 2001, Tampa's Aquifer Storage and Recovery System began operation providing an alternative water supply. Advanced water treatment by ozonation starting in 2002 resulted in increased customer satisfaction with water taste and odor. The South Tampa Reclaimed Area (STAR) project was fully operational by mid-2004, helping to maximize potable water resources by utilizing highly treated wastewater for irrigation. In 2006, Tampa Water Department's transmission and distribution system consisted of over 2,230 miles of pipe serving a population of approximately 645,000. In 2008, The David L. Tippen Water Treatment Facility received the Partnership for Safe Water Ten-Year Directors Award for their ongoing commitment to improving water quality beyond the current regulatory requirements.

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