Full-Scale 'Pilot' for Indirect Potable Reuse: The Tampa Augmentation Project

The primary water source for the City of Tampa (City) David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility (DLTWTF) is the Hillsborough River Reservoir. Master planning efforts completed by both the City and Tampa Bay Water (TBW) indicate that the City will require additional potable water supplies beyond what the reservoir can provide in the near future. The City is, therefore, seeking alternative water supplies to ensure these demands are met. The Tampa Augmentation Project (TAP) is a study co-funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) and the City that considers the feasibility of a potential sustainable water supply option: the use of 50 mgd of highly treated reclaimed water from the Howard F. Curren Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (HFCAWTP) to supplement raw potable water supplies in Tampa. TAP is an indirect potable reuse (IPR) project that includes aquifer recharge and recovery of the HFCAWTP reclaimed water followed by treatment at the DLTWTF prior to distribution. The work completed under TAP, which included comprehensive sampling and analysis of the entire flow path, an evaluation of treatment through new and existing processes, and review of existing and anticipated regulations, demonstrates the value of an alternative, full-scale approach to IPR pilot studies.