Tampa Bay Region - Southwest Florida Water Management District

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SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
FY2014 COOPERATIVE FUNDING INITIATIVE APPLICATION FORM
Project Name
Northwest Hillsborough Regional Aquifer Recharge Project
Project Number N521
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 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
through the use of excess to need reclaimed water resources. To meet these goals the County initiated the Northwest Hillsborough
County Beneficial Reuse Alternatives Study , a feasibility review of several alternatives that could allow Hillsborough County to
increase beneficial reuse of its wastewater effluent in its Northwest Service Area. This study identified various storage/ recharge
and operational options to help capture and store reclaimed water, not utilized today, to increase the overall average annual
utilization of this resource. This will result in offsetting and reducing the use of potable water as well as reducing surface water
discharges to Tampa Bay.
Coastal Environmental Protection Program of Hillsborough County identified beneficial alternatives for seasonally available
reclaimed water by using it to recharge the Floridan aquifer in the coastal portions of Hillsborough County. The first project to take
advantage of this alternative was the South Hillsborough Aquifer Recharge Project, which has the potential to use upwards of 10
MGD to create a salinity barrier that can reduce saltwater intrusion while providing water level improvements within the Southern
Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA). The County is now proposing to continue this program in our Northwest Service Area by
initiating a similar project will also create a salinity barrier and improve water levels within the Northern Tampa Bay Water Use
Caution Area (NTBWUCA).
These alternatives are in support of the District's 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.
The Northwest Hillsborough Regional Aquifer Recharge Project consists of design, bidding, and construction of two aquifer
recharge systems. One system will be located at the Northwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility (NWRWRF) and provide up to
1 to 2 mgd of reclaimed water for use in the Lower Floridan aquifer. The construction of a deep exploratory well and associated
monitoring wells will be required since the upper Floridan aquifer (UFA) is expected to be too fresh, in this project area. The second
recharge system will be located at the Northwest Dechlorination Facility (NWDF) and will provide an estimated 5 mgd of reclaimed
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