Tampa Bay Water to seek permanent change to Alafia River permit after recent emergency diversions; Polk requests delay

Tampa Bay Water staff asked the board on April 21 to approve submission of a water‑use permit application that would modify the agency’s Alafia River intake permit to incorporate provisions of a recent Southwest Florida Water Management District emergency order.

Warren Hogg, who presented the item, said the Alafia River pump station can divert up to 75,000,000 gallons per day and that the agency’s historical permit allowed diversion of 10% of flow above a low‑flow threshold. He said emergency orders during droughts had allowed the agency to increase intake to 19% of flow and the most recent emergency authorization—used to refill CW Bill Young Regional Reservoir—permitted diverting the increased percent up to the 75 MGD capacity. Hogg said staff developed a permit modification that would make those emergency provisions consistent with the district’s minimum flow rule and permanent in Tampa Bay Water’s permit.

Nut graf: The modification would codify a higher allowable percent of river flow for diversion when river flows are above specified thresholds; Polk Regional Water Cooperative urged a 30‑day deferral so agencies could coordinate, but the board approved staff holding the application for the 30‑day member review period and then filing the modification.

Before the action, Eric DeHaven, executive director of the Polk Regional Water Cooperative, urged the board to defer filing so Tampa Bay Water, Polk and the water management district could discuss implications for competition over Alafia flows. DeHaven said Polk sees the Alafia as one of a limited set of surface‑water options for Polk County and that a permanent increase in Tampa Bay Water’s allowed take could “remove the Alafia River as an option for the Polk Regional Water Cooperative to meet our future needs.”

Hogg said staff had already met with stakeholders and scheduled a joint meeting with Polk and the district to discuss the proposal, and he recommended the board approve the permit application and then hold the filing for 30 days under the amended and restated interlocal agreement so members can pursue the interlocal arbitration option if desired. The board approved the staff recommendation unanimously.

Ending: With board approval and the 30‑day member review period, staff will continue stakeholder meetings with Polk and the district before filing the permit modification to the Southwest Florida Water Management District.