Conservation Careers Blog Newsroom Contact Tampa Bay Regional Drinking Water Sources Tampa Bay Water meets the region's drinking water needs with a diverse, flexible supply network, state-of-the-art water quality monitoring, and careful protection of our natural environment. The region's water is blended from three different sources: groundwater, river water and desalinated seawater. Tampa Bay Water is the only water utility in the United States to take advantage of these three sources of water combined. Tampa Bay Water’s regional network of water supply facilities includes a 120 million gallons per day (mgd) surface water treatment plant, a 25 mgd Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant, a 15.5-billion gallon reservoir and 120 mgd permitted capacity of groundwater from wells. GROUNDWATER Once the sole source of drinking water for the Tampa Bay region, groundwater is an important part of Tampa Bay Water’s system. Groundwater comes from... Read More RIVER WATER Surface water, or river water, was the first alternative to groundwater to be added to the Tampa Bay region’s wholesale water supply. Since late 2002, surface water has... Read More SEAWATER DESALINATION The Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination facility is a drought-proof, alternative water supply that provides up to 25 million gallons per day of drinking water to the region. Read More CURRENT DRINKING WATER SOURCES Tampa Bay Water is the only utility in the United States Tampa Bay Water is the only utility in the United States that takes advantage of a distinct blend of three sources to deliver affordable, high-quality drinking water to... Read More FUTURE DRINKING WATER SOURCES Planning for the future is an on-going process at Tampa Bay Water that includes more than potential new supplies. Our long-term planning process includes analyses of future demand, conservation potential, supply reliability, water shortage mitigation planning and hydrologic uncertainty – all wrapped up in the Long-term Master Water Plan planning process. Read More Copyright 2021 By Tampa Bay Water Terms | Privacy | Accessibility