TAMPA, Fla. — City of Tampa leaders are taking steps to preserve drinking water for years to come with Mayor Jane Castor's "One Water Plan" through her Resilient Tampa Roadmap.
FULL REPORT | Resilient Tampa Roadmap
As the Tampa Bay area deals with the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels, Castor said water security is one of the biggest challenges this area will face in the future.
"Water is going to be the most important resource worldwide in very short order," Castor said.
The One Water Plan lays out her administration's plan to ensure a sustainable water supply for future generations. It works by protecting water resources, developing stronger conservation measures that are easily enforced, and storing purified water for use during periods of drought.
Much of this initiative is already in motion, according to Castor.
City leaders said the Tampa Bay community puts up to 50 million gallons of treated water per day into Tampa Bay.
Now, Castor said the city has a plan to save that water, bring it to Sulphur Springs, and inject that into the aquifer. She said that alone will help protect Sulphur Springs and the wells beneath it from the salinity creeping into our water.
"That is critically important," Castor said. "Something that you can't see from the surface, but it's critical to the future of our community."
This comes as the City of Tampa said they are collaborating with surrounding areas to ensure a supply of potable water for years to come.
