Florida is known for its beaches and crystal clear waters.
It's that water residents in Tampa want to conserve and keep safe.
Environmental activists said it's in jeopardy as city leaders look for ways to re-purpose it.
Seminole Heights resident Phil Compton has been on a water crusade for more than two decades.
"We just don't know enough right now to go forward," Compton said.
He is referring to the PURE water project proposal by the city of Tampa.
The proposal would retreat wastewater and re-purpose it into area drinking water.
Compton said that's just too dangerous.
"There are hundreds of contaminants. pharmaceuticals, forever chemicals, you name it. Everything that is in our sewage that would still be present potentially at some level and there's no safety level by the federal or the state government for saying when you have that at a safe level," Compton said.
Whit Remer is the Sustainability and Resilience Officer with the City of Tampa. He understands the concerns citizens have expressed.
"There is an ick factor there that really throws people off and we understand that," Remer said.
He admits the proposal doesn't come dressed up in a nice bow but he said experts, including engineers, continue to study how they can keep the wastewater clean and safe if indeed they move forward with the PURE plan.
"We in fact belong to a voluntary program set forth by the EPA called the Clean Water Partnership where we report voluntarily upon lots of contaminants that aren't even regulated right now," Remer said.
Compton said that sounds great on the surface, but the question he has is how can the EPA assure the water is safe when they have yet to study new contaminants to determine if the water is viable to consume.
"We asked the city can you wait until we have standards so you will know that whatever you're doing is going to make it safe enough to drink but they want to push on," Compton said.
Remer said that's because the city is up against the clock.
He said a state law put into place in 2021 is forcing officials to find alternative ways to eliminate wastewater into area waterways.
Compton said that could be solved with an extension to give more time to look at other proposals.
In a press conference Monday, Compton was joined by other opponents of the PURE project proposal. He is hoping attention and education will bring other solutions forward.
Meanwhile, Remer said the PURE proposal is one of about half a dozen studies the city is conducting. Others include:
• Pumping water down into the aquifer, which is called recharging the aquifer, and withdrawing it during the dry season, also called recovery of the water.
• Adding the water created during the PURE process to the Hillsborough River Reservoir – either below the dam or directly into the reservoir.
• Selling reclaimed water to another water utility.
• Sending reclaimed water deep underground using deep well injection.
• Treating reclaimed water to drinking water standards and adding it directly into the drinking water supply.
Remer will go before the city council on Thursday to ask for an extension to continue studying which project would be best suited for the city and its residents.
