Tampa Bay Water is a drinking water utility that supplies the Tampa Bay area. Projections from future climate scenarios and human water use scenarios indicated a high probability of a reduction in future freshwater supply. Additionally, stronger storms and shifting weather patterns from a changing climate can potentially deteriorate water sources to be unusable. These factors can cause a dependency on water from the surface water reservoir, which leads to an increased risk of the reservoir not being filled by the end of the wet season. This project focuses on understanding and preparing for these combined challenges by evaluating how a changing climate could affect both the amount and quality of water available to the region.

Funding: Tampa Bay Water from September 2020 – August 2024.

This project is led/coordinated by the Water Institute.

Project Participants

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Project Outputs

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This project developed a framework to assess potential risks of a changing climate on surface water quality in the Hillsborough and Alafia River watersheds and thus the risks to Tampa Bay Water’s surface water supply.