Tampa, Fla., to embark on “historic” infrastructure overhaul

(UI) – On Wednesday, May 1, the city of Tampa, Fla., announced its “biggest infrastructure overhaul in its history.” The investment includes stormwater improvement projects, hundreds of miles of new or repaired water and wastewater pipes, and much more.

In 2019, a nearly $3 billion PIPES Program was approved to make critical repairs and upgrades to Tampa's aging water and wastewater systems. After nearly 10 years without a utility rate increase, PIPES established a schedule of gradual rate increases for water and wastewater services over a 20-year period, providing the funding the city needed to reinvest in its aging water infrastructure.

Over the past five years, more than $800 million has been invested in projects designed to upgrade Tampa's water and wastewater systems. Another $250 million has gone toward stormwater projects, improving drainage and reducing dangerous street flooding. Between the three departments, approximately 300 miles of pipes have been repaired or replaced.

New facilities have been added, technologies have been upgraded to improve operations and efficiency, and new pump stations have come online. In May, the Tampa Water Department partially activated its new High Service Pump Station at the David L. Tippin Water Treatment Plant. The $94 million project replaces aging pumps scattered across the facility, some of which are almost 100 years old. A large portion of Tampa's drinking water will travel through the High Service Pump Station and to the faucets of thousands of homes and businesses.

Tampa also has the third longest wastewater microtunnel in the country. Running 60 ft underground, the new pipe replaces one originally placed into service in 1951. The underground tunnel carries approximately 30% of Tampa's wastewater from a pumping station near the Tampa Riverwalk to the Wastewater Treatment Facility at Port Tampa Bay.

Later this year, construction is expected to conclude for the first of a series of flood relief projects in Tampa's Lower Peninsula. Designed to improve drainage in the region, the first phase also includes the creation of a new park, which will also provide stormwater benefits.

"When historians write about this era of Tampa history, they will tell our grandchildren this was a period when city leaders fully understood infrastructure is the lifeblood of any city," said Mayor Jane Castor.

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