Tampa Bay Water secures $10 million state grant for treatment plant expansion

Tampa Bay Water received a $10 million Alternative Water Supply Grant from the state of Florida on Oct. 28. The funds are designated to expand the Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant in Tampa. This award is part of a $100 million statewide allocation for spring restoration and alternative water supply projects announced by Governor Ron DeSantis.

The utility serves Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco counties, along with the cities of St. Petersburg, New Port Richey, and Tampa. It provides wholesale drinking water to more than 2.6 million people. The organization operates the Tampa facility, which has been active since 2002. The plant treats water from the Alafia River, Hillsborough River, Tampa Bypass Canal, and the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir.

The expansion project is valued at approximately $181 million. Work began in September 2025. The project aims to add up to 12.5 million gallons per day of treatment capacity. This represents a nearly 14% increase in current output. Tampa Bay Water senior project manager Karim Molina-Oyola stated that growing demand in the region necessitates this infrastructure upgrade.

The construction involves adding a fifth treatment process train to the facility. This addition functions as an assembly line for raw water, moving it through filters and chemical treatment stages. The project will also expand the ACTIFLO clarification process to remove color and particles. An additional ozone contactor will be installed to serve as the primary disinfectant. The utility will also add more biologically active filters and expand secondary disinfection chemical systems.

Tampa Bay Water previously secured $1,016,667 in congressional funding and $1 million in state funding for this initiative. The project was selected from three top-ranked options during the update of the organization's Long-Term Master Water Plan. Public input was gathered prior to the start of construction.

Crews have completed large-diameter pipe installation. Work continues on foundations, filters, pumps, and chemical facilities. Molina-Oyola expects the initiative to be completed by 2028. The expanded capacity is designed to meet regional drinking water demands through 2033.