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The Determination of Minimum Flows for Sulphur Springs, Tampa

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DRAFT<br />

3.9.2 <strong>The</strong> effects <strong>of</strong> flows from <strong>Sulphur</strong> <strong>Springs</strong> on salinity distributions in the<br />

Lower Hillsborough River<br />

<strong>The</strong> relationships <strong>of</strong> freshwater inflows from the reservoir and <strong>Sulphur</strong> <strong>Springs</strong> to the<br />

water quality and ecology <strong>of</strong> the Lower Hillsborough River has been the subject <strong>of</strong><br />

considerable study, including previously published reports and ongoing data collection<br />

ef<strong>for</strong>ts. A study <strong>of</strong> the relationships <strong>of</strong> freshwater flows to the Hillsborough River was<br />

published in 1995 as a condition <strong>of</strong> the renewal <strong>of</strong> the City <strong>of</strong> <strong>Tampa</strong>'s Water User<br />

Permit <strong>for</strong> withdrawals from the reservoir and <strong>Sulphur</strong> <strong>Springs</strong> (WAR/SDI 1995). In the<br />

late 1990s, the District conducted data analyses to support the establishment <strong>of</strong><br />

minimum flows <strong>for</strong> the Lower Hillsborough River at the base <strong>of</strong> the dam<br />

(SWFWMD1999). As part <strong>of</strong> this process, the <strong>Tampa</strong> Bay Estuary Program (TBEP)<br />

facilitated a minimum flows technical advisory group to recommended to the District<br />

water resource and ecological criteria necessary to establish minimum flows at that<br />

location. <strong>The</strong> advisory group concluded that salinity and dissolved oxygen<br />

concentrations were key water quality parameters on which the determination <strong>of</strong><br />

minimum flows should focus. <strong>The</strong> TBEP also managed a contract with Coastal<br />

Environmental to consolidate previously collected data <strong>for</strong> the river and develop<br />

statistical models to predict salinity distributions and dissolved oxygen concentrations as<br />

a function <strong>of</strong> inflow from the dam and <strong>Sulphur</strong> <strong>Springs</strong> (Coastal Environmental 1997).<br />

In January 2000, the District established a minimum flow <strong>of</strong> 10 cfs <strong>for</strong> the Lower<br />

Hillsborough River near the base <strong>of</strong> the dam. As described in Section 2.3.1, this rule<br />

stipulated that alternate sources, including water diverted from <strong>Sulphur</strong> <strong>Springs</strong>, could<br />

be used to provide this minimum flow. <strong>The</strong> minimum flow <strong>for</strong> the Lower Hillsborough<br />

River was reviewed by a scientific review panel, which recommended that additional<br />

studies be undertaken to improve the understanding <strong>of</strong> the response <strong>of</strong> the river to<br />

freshwater inflows (Montagna et al. 1999). Accordingly, the adopted rule also stipulated<br />

that the minimum flow would be re-evaluated by 2005, with new studies conducted to<br />

evaluate the effects freshwater flows up to and above 35 cfs have on the lower river.<br />

Those studies are now underway.<br />

Ongoing data collection on the river is also being conducted as part <strong>of</strong> monitoring<br />

programs conducted by the Environmental Protection Commission <strong>of</strong> Hillsborough<br />

County (EPCHC) and <strong>Tampa</strong> Bay Water, a Regional Water Supply Authority. <strong>The</strong> water<br />

quality data collection by the EPCHC is longstanding, with records at three fixed<br />

location sites in the river dating back to the 1970s. Vertical pr<strong>of</strong>iles <strong>of</strong> salinity, dissolved<br />

oxygen, and other in situ parameters are also taken by the County at a much large<br />

number <strong>of</strong> stations as part <strong>of</strong> their Hillsborough Independent Monitoring Program<br />

(HIMP). <strong>The</strong> ef<strong>for</strong>t by <strong>Tampa</strong> Bay Water is part <strong>of</strong> an extensive Hydrobiological<br />

Monitoring Program (HBMP) that is required by their Water Use Permit to withdraw<br />

water from the Hillsborough River when flows at the dam exceed 100 cfs. Using a<br />

stratified random design, the HBMP has involved extensive water quality and biological<br />

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