Florida has awarded $22.6 million to expand Tampa Bay’s drinking water supply, directing $10 million to Tampa Bay Water for additional treatment capacity and another $12.6 million to seven Polk County communities developing alternative sources of drinking water.
Tampa Bay Water, which supplies drinking water to member governments across Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, will use its funding to expand surface water treatment capacity by 12.5 million gallons per day. In Polk County, the money will support efforts coordinated through the Polk Regional Water Cooperative to develop supplies using brackish water, which contains more salt than freshwater but less than seawater and can be treated for drinking.
The two awards are part of a $100 million statewide investment announced Wednesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis in Crystal River, where the state committed $50 million to 22 alternative water supply projects and another $50 million to 23 projects intended to restore Florida’s springs and improve water quality…