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Tampa Bay Water warns of severe summer drought; reservoir near 13.5% capacity
Summary
Tampa Bay Water staff told the board July 20 that the region remains in Phase 3 water restrictions, river flows are severely depressed and reservoir storage is about 2.12 billion gallons (roughly 13.5% of capacity); staff urged sustained summer rains to refill supplies.
Tampa Bay Water staff reported on July 20 that the region remains in Phase 3 restrictions and is working to balance constrained supplies as rivers and reservoirs run low. "The flow in the Hillsborough River this July is the 4th lowest that we've seen in the last 50 years," Warren said, noting the drought began in September of last year and that normal summer rains have been spotty.
Warren told the board the authority delivered an average of about 207.9 million gallons per day for the water year and that recent rains allowed limited harvesting into the reservoir: "Today is the first day that we will put meaningful water into the reservoir," he said, identifying roughly 47 million gallons available from the Alafia River and about 17 million gallons put into storage that day. Staff warned the reservoir refill hinges on sustained runoff from key catchments (Lithia and parts of DeSoto/Polk areas) and that without continued flow they could return to no stored water. The general manager and staff reiterated enforcement of restrictions and that harvesting and permit changes—such as an Alafia permit increase to 19% of flow—have helped the region's ability to capture additional water but cannot substitute for a sustained rainy pattern.
