Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
County declines to arbitrate Tampa Bay Water request to increase Alafia River withdrawal
Loading...
Summary
Hillsborough County staff recommended — and commissioners accepted — that the county not arbitrate a Tampa Bay Water modification request that would raise permitted Alafia River withdrawals, including increasing the cap from 60 million to 75 million gallons per day.
At a May 7 public hearing required under county policy, Kevin Moran, Environmental Services Division director, presented a Tampa Bay Water permit modification request and the county’s recommendation on whether to arbitrate.
Moran said Tampa Bay Water seeks to modify an existing water‑use permit for withdrawals from the Alafia River. “Currently, Tampa Bay Water is allowed to withdraw 10% of the flows greater than the established minimum flow for the Alafai River, and that withdrawal is capped at 60,000,000 gallons per day,” Moran said. The applicant requested increasing the allowable percentage to 19% of flows above the minimum and a new maximum daily withdrawal quantity of 75,000,000 gallons per day.
Moran told the board county staff does not object to the permit modification and recommended the board not arbitrate the proposed change. After a brief public comment from Denise Herndon expressing broader concerns about growth and water resources, the board voted 7‑0 to accept staff’s recommendation not to arbitrate the permit modification.
Moran cited Board Policy 0Z3039 (public hearing requirement) as the basis for this public hearing to allow citizen access to technical information and comment prior to the county’s decision on arbitration.
No further conditions or follow‑up direction were recorded in the hearing; staff’s recommendation and the board’s vote conclude the county’s discretion on arbitration under the presented schedule.
