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The bay area's regional water supplier Tampa Bay Water and its board of directors voted recently to wait until its December 17 meeting to vote on reclassifying the Alafia River as a Class I water source.
Tampa Bay Water wants the change to protect a major source of drinking water. The Alafia and the Tampa Bypass Canal, both sources of drinking water since 2003, are Class III water bodies, a designation intended to ensure they are safe for fish, other wildlife and recreation. The proposed Class I classification would mandate they comply with more stringent, drinking water standards.
"From reporting provided by Tampa Bay Water, the agency seeking to reclassify a large segment of the Alafia River, it appears that residents and environmental groups are generally supportive of implementing higher water quality standards," says Mario Cabana, Project Manager of the Water Resource Team in Hillsborough County Water Resource Services.
The utility, which provides water to Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, takes water from the river and the canal during the rainy season and sends the extra water to either its water treatment plant or to the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir to be stored for later use.
"The Alafia River is currently designated for recreation and wildlife use as a Class III water body, and is generally in good health," says Jess Johnson, Senior Aide to Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham, who serves on the Tampa Bay Water board of directors.
According to Tampa Bay Water, the segments of the Alafia River and the Tampa Bypass Canal proposed to be reclassified already meet the Class I water quality standards.
If this is correct, then it would be expected that wildlife would not benefit significantly by moving to Class I designation. However, reclassification to Class I would provide enhanced protection from any future new pollutant sources.
According to both Johnson and Cabana, the Agricultural Economic Development Council (AEDC) voted to oppose the reclassification, and approved a position paper outlining their concerns.
In general, the AEDC believes that existing regulations are sufficient. However, it has concerns with the potential increased costs to farmers to meet Class I standards and the potential loss of flexibility to change their farming operations in the future.
The board meeting will be held this month and the public may come and comment on the reclassification.
To get the reclassification started, the board must make a formal request to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The DEP would then begin its own inspection and hold public hearings. Then, it would make a recommendation to the Florida's Environmental Regulatory Commission, which makes the final decision.
To learn more about the Alafia's reclassification, visit www.tampabaywater.org.
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