Protecting The Alafia River Is In Hillsborough's Best Interests

Published: Dec 15, 2007

Officials at Tampa Bay Water, the regional water-supply utility, insist its proposal to increase protections for the Alafia River will not affect the local economy or raise the costs of Hillsborough County government.

A study conducted for the Hillsborough County Commission, however, suggests reclassifying the Alafia as a Class I river could create millions of dollars in cleanup costs for Hillsborough and the phosphate, development and agricultural industries.

The county concerns may be overblown. But the water supplier could easily end the dispute by agreeing to help Hillsborough fund any cleanup costs that result from the tougher standards. If the water supplier is correct, there won't be any. If the county is correct, then it is appropriate for Tampa Bay Water customers to pay at least a portion of those costs.

The utility, which skims water from the river during heavy flow periods, provides drinking water to Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

But the squabble over costs should not muddy this critical fact: Nothing would cripple Hillsborough's economic prospects quicker than a lack of drinking water, and the Alafia provides 15 to 20 percent of the region's supply. It would be foolish not to protect this essential resource, which also contributes to Tampa Bay's ecological health.

So at its meeting Monday, Tampa Bay Water's governing board, which includes Hillsborough Commissioners Mark Sharpe and Al Higginbotham, should approve the proposal to petition the state to change the river from a Class III to Class I. (The utility also is requesting the board to reclassify the Tampa Bypass Canal, but that has not generated much controversy.)

If the board makes the request regarding the Alafia, it would be reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection, whose secretary will determine, after hearing all sides, whether to recommend the change. Then the Environmental Regulatory Commission, which develops rules for the state, will hold hearings to determine if that is feasible. It's a long process that will allow Hillsborough and other affected parties ample opportunity to scrutinize the details and raise objections.

Tampa Bay Water already has greatly reduced the section of the Alafia that would be reclassified so as not to affect existing mining operations or public wastewater facilities. Officials say the sections proposed for the change currently meet the tough Class I water standards for heavy metals and other contaminants, including fluoride.

Emergency discharges from phosphate operations do occasionally cause fluoride levels to spike above the Class I level, but regulations allow such periodic increases. County officials maintain the river has a naturally high fluoride level that would make it difficult to meet the new standard. But state regulators can consider such matters when determining if pollution levels are being violated.

Water utility officials also say the change should have no impact on agriculture, since the nutrient requirements for Class I and III are the same. Nor should it affect development - other than making it more difficult to locate an industrial plant that discharges chemicals near the river.

The sole goal, Tampa Bay Water officials stress, is to prevent any increase in industrial pollution. That's a goal the county should support.

Hillsborough commissioners, who complain the utility left them in the dark as it pursued the reclassification, have some legitimate concerns. But they should remember protecting the Alafia and the region's water supply is in Hillsborough's best interests.