Tampa Bay Region - Southwest Florida Water Management District

Return to TOC
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
FY2014 COOPERATIVE FUNDING INITIATIVE APPLICATION FORM
Project Name
South Hillsborough Aquifer Recharge Program (SHARP)
Project Number N287
Cooperator
Hillsborough County BOCC
Department
Contact Person James Barrington
Address
601 E. Kennedy Blvd, 20th Floo
City Sate Zip Tampa, FL 33602
Phone # 813-307-4427
Email
barringtonj@hillsboroughcounty.org
Project Type:
X Water Supply X Water Quality Flood Protection X Natural Systems
Strategic Initiatives:
X Water Quality Maintenance and Improvement Water Quality Monitoring
X Alternative Water Supply Conservation
Reclaimed Water Regional Water Supply Planning
Emergency Flood Response Floodplain Management
Minimum Flows and Level Establishment and Monitoring Minimum Flows and Levels Recovery
X Natural Systems Conservation and Restoration Natural Systems Identification and Monitoring
Indicate All Counties to Benefit From Project:
Charlotte Citrus Desoto Hardee Hernando Highlands X Hillsborough Lake
Levy Manatee Marion Pasco Pinellas Sarasota Sumter Polk
Project Description:
Hillsborough County is a leader in water conservation through maximizing the use of their reclaimed water by establishing the
largest retail residential reclaimed water system in the U.S. The County's comprehensive plan includes the expansion of this
system and use of their available reclaimed water resources though the year 2050 by pursuing additional large industrial/
commercial and residential reclaimed water users. However to meet these goals the County has identified various storage and
operational options to help them capture and store reclaimed water until it is needed, thereby, increasing the overall average
annual utilization of this resource. This will result in offsetting and reducing the use of potable water as well as surface water
discharges to Tampa Bay.
Hillsborough County recently identified an alternative beneficial use of seasonally available reclaimed water by using it to recharge
the Floridan aquifer in the coastal portion of southern Hillsborough County. The benefits of aquifer recharge in this area include
creating a salinity barrier that would reduce saltwater intrusion while providing water level improvements within the Most Impacted
Area (MIA) of the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA).
Recently the District completed an aquifer recharge feasibility study for the Tampa Bay Area which included southern Hillsborough
County and eastern Polk County (MWH, 2009). This study evaluated both indirect aquifer recharge using rapid infiltration basins
and direct recharge utilizing wells to recharge the aquifer with reclaimed water to initiate recovery by improving the water levels.
One of the conclusions of the District study is that up to 90 percent of the improvements in water level from recharge activities can
be obtained as additional groundwater. The permitting mechanism that would allow the District to provide groundwater credits is
called Mitigation plus Recovery. The recharge must provide a net groundwater improvement after the impact of the groundwater
withdrawal is accounted for.
Hillsborough County has completed an aquifer recharge feasibility study in the Big Bend area. This study identifies the initial steps
to construct and evaluate the first direct reclaimed water aquifer recharge pilot project in Hillsborough County. The County has an
existing test well, the Big Bend ASR test well, that will be modified for use in an aquifer recharge pilot test program. The feasibility
study also includes cost estimates for well modifications and a planning level cost estimate for expanding the pilot system to a full
scale aquifer recharge system to recharge up to 1 billion gallons (BG) per year.
21