Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant to Start Providing Drinking Water
March 18, 2003
Plant to Provide Safe, Sustainable, Environmentally Friendly and Drought-Proof Water Source
Source Tampa Bay Water
The Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination plant uses seawater from Tampa Bay to provide an environmentally friendly, drought-proof, sustainable supply of drinking water. Although it will initially produce water at a rate of 4.2 million gallons a day (mgd), its output will be 25 mgd when at full capacity, making it the largest RO seawater desalination facility in North America.
The Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination plant will provide the Tampa Bay region with 10 percent of its drinking water.
Numerous independent environmental studies predict the facility will not increase Tampa Bay's salinity beyond its normal seasonal variations or have any impact on the bay's marine life.
Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination is producing the world's least expensive desalinated water. Its average wholesale cost over the next 30 years is projected at just $2.49 per thousand gallons. Co-funding by the Southwest Florida Water Management District through its Partnership Agreement with Tampa Bay Water of up to $85 million for the plant's capital costs has further lowered the 30-year projected average cost to $1.88 per thousand gallons.
