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Tampa Bay Water reports reservoir rebounds to 47% after Hurricane Debbie; managers warn drought alert remains
Summary
Tampa Bay Water staff said storm runoff boosted regional supplies and the reservoir rose to about 7.33 billion gallons (roughly 47% full), but the region remains in a stage‑1 drought alert until monthly metrics change. Staff outlined ongoing work on the South Hillsborough wellfield and desalination readiness.
Tampa Bay Water staff told the board Aug. 19 that heavy July rainfall from Hurricane Debbie and recent storms allowed the authority to harvest large river flows and materially replenish its regional reservoir. "Happy to report that as of midnight last night, our reservoir is holding 7,330,000,000 gallons, which is about 47% full," said Warren Hogg, the authority's chief science officer.
Hogg and general manager staff said the reservoir had fallen as low as about 2.3 billion gallons earlier in the year and that the authority is currently adding water at an estimated rate of roughly 1 billion gallons every five days. Hogg noted the region remains under a stage‑1 drought alert because monthly indices — including a 12‑month rainfall deficit and streamflow calculations — are assessed at each month’s end and have not yet fully recovered.
Directors pressed staff on operational limits and contingency planning. In response to a question about pumping capacity, staff said the current operational limit for capturing river flows into the reservoir is roughly 200 million gallons per day and that increasing that capacity would require analysis of pipe, pump and elevation constraints. Board members also asked about the desalination plant schedule; staff said desal operations typically run Nov.–May and that the plant is expected to come back online later this year with phased capacity increases.
