Water Flows Smoothly Again in the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir

We all know that it’s important to have a savings account set up for a “rainy day.” At Tampa Bay Water, it is the exact opposite. We need to have a savings account for those days that aren’t so rainy – a water savings account.

Tampa Bay Water’s savings account is the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, and since July 25, 2014, we are once again storing water in the reservoir – approximately 140 million gallons of water each day. Depending on rainfall, some days we store much more.

The reservoir has been undergoing a renovation since 2012 and is nearly complete. The renovation was worked from the bottom up, so refilling could begin while construction around the top of the facility was finished. Tampa Bay Water was authorized by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to fill the facility to about half of its 15.5-billion gallon capacity. Once construction is completed, which is scheduled for the end of 2014, Tampa Bay Water will be able to fill the reservoir to capacity.

When full, the reservoir holds enough water to fill Raymond James Stadium more than 33 times.
That water can be used for those not so rainy days. Reservoir water is treated at the Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant, blended with other treated supplies like groundwater and desalinated seawater, then distributed to local governments for use by their customers.