TB Water Suing For Cracked Walls
As if the ongoing water shortage was not enough to deal with, members of the Tampa Bay Water Board have another issue on their hands.
During a recent meeting, the board unanimously voted to sue the three companies: HDR Engineering, Barnard Construction and Construction Dynamics Group, which have been involved with the design and construction of the recently built 930-acre C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, located in southeast Hillsborough County.
According to Tampa Bay Water, HDR designed the reservoir, Barnard was the lead construction contractor and Construction Dynamics oversaw building it. But investigations of the now crack-ridden walls of the multimillion-dollar reservoir have determined that the cracks were caused either during the design, construction or oversight of the project.
While Tampa Bay Water officials have not said how much money they will try to recover in the lawsuits, board member and Tampa City Councilman Charlie Miranda reportedly said that he wants to make sure taxpayers don’t get stuck with the repair bill.
“For me, it is paramount that the public interest be protected,” Miranda said.
Moving forward with litigation as well as filing the lawsuit by December 20, —before the statute of limitations runs out— also means that Tampa Bay Water will cancel contracts with HDR and the other firms.
When full, the reservoir can provide enough water to operate the Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant at full capacity for more than six months.
The reservoir’s banks are coated with 16 inches of soil cement to prevent erosion from waves. It took 183 days to initially fill the reservoir. During construction, more than 150 pieces of heavy equipment were used and more than 150 people employed.
Thirteen million cubic yards of earth were moved in total for this project. That is equivalent to one dump truck every minute for two years straight.
While the first cracks were visible in the soil-cement covering of the 15-billion gallon capacity reservoir’s inner walls as of late 2006, they’ve become more widespread, causing officials to drain the water levels so cracks below the waterline could be investigated.
According to Tampa Bay Water, safety is paramount in the reservoir design, construction and operations. The facility is an earthen structure, with an embankment as wide as a football field at its base and that averages 50 feet in height. Armored with 16 inches of soil cement, including a stair-step design that rings the top, the reservoir is built to withstand hurricane force wind and rain.
Instrumentation built into the reservoir and various measurements taken provide feedback on soil moisture, stability and other safety factors.
For more information about the reservoir, please visit www.Tampabaywater.org.
New Trails Planned in Lithia!
Lithia and its surrounding area residents will soon have one more place to enjoy the great outdoors that will include a wide variety of recreational opportunities.
That’s because the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board recently approved a land management plan for the Chito Branch Reserve in southeastern Hillsborough County located around the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir in Lithia.
According to Senior Land Use Specialist Gina Sowders, the district purchased the 5,515-acre reserve in 2001 in cooperation with Tampa Bay Water for the primary purpose of building the 16-billion-gallon reservoir to collect and store drinking water. The reservoir is built on 1,100 acres. The remaining property consists of a variety of habitats, including wetlands, pine and scrubby flatwoods, scrub, freshwater marshes and improved pasture.
“It is a lot of fun to see an area developing into a place so useful to the public,” Sowders said.
While protecting the area’s natural resources, the district has determined that hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, primitive camping, wildlife observation, interpretive uses, nature study, outdoor nature photography, picnicking and trail running are recreational opportunities compatible with these objectives.
Public input and comments were solicited at a noticed public meeting last summer during the drafting of this plan. Approximately 26 people attended, nine of which completed a questionnaire form about their recreational interest for Chito Branch Reserve. The results of the questionnaire included 63 percent equestrian uses, 50 percent primitive camping, 38 percent biking, 25 percent nature study, 13 percent hiking and 13 percent photography.
However, Sowders said that the district must finish constructing the parking area, marking trails and completing the other infrastructure to accommodate recreation.
“This work is expected to be fully completed by next spring,” she said.
As part of the plan, the district will be responsible for managing the reserve’s natural resources and for accommodating recreational usage. Tampa Bay Water will continue to manage the operations of the reservoir.
Of course, anyone who would be interested in volunteering to help maintain the trails, which would include trail work, trash pick-up or trimming branches, may contact the Southwest Florida Water Management Board.
For more information, please visit Southwest Florida Water Management at www.swfwmd.state.fl.us or call 1-800-423-1476.
