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Water director: FY27 balanced but city will still rely on Tampa Bay Water when river yields fall
Summary
Water director presented a $238 million FY27 water budget and warned that Tampa will continue to buy wholesale water from Tampa Bay Water when the Hillsborough River cannot supply demand; council discussed conservation, billing clarity and potential reuse projects.
Rory Jones, the water department representative, told council that the FY27 water enterprise budget is balanced at roughly $238 million in combined expenses and revenues, and that staff continue to prioritize pipeline projects and DLT (priority) projects while monitoring rising construction costs.
"Basically, we're presenting you a balanced budget. It's a $238,000,000 budget," Jones said, outlining operating and capital numbers. He told council the department's debt service is about $28 million with $16.9 million in interest.
When pressed about dependence on Tampa Bay Water, Jones said the city holds a permit to withdraw up to 82 million gallons per day from the Hillsborough River on an annual average but that river output fluctuates. "I don't think we'll ever be able to, completely get off from Tampa Bay Water," he said, explaining that when the river doesn't produce the city buys wholesale water and passes the cost to customers as a separate line item on bills.
Council members raised options to reduce reliance through conservation measures, purple-pipe reuse and better leak detection. Staff agreed billing redesigns will clarify Tampa Bay Water pass-through charges and said future discussions could examine tiered incentives or more aggressive conservation programs.
Next steps: water staff will continue asset-prioritized pipeline work and return with rate and billing proposals if further changes are needed to cover construction costs.
