The Tampa Bay region is well into the rainy season—and that is good news for our water savings account. As of August 1, the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir is storing more than 8.5 billion gallons of water, more than half its 15.5-billion-gallon capacity.
Last fall, the reservoir was full and ready for the dry season. Daily withdrawals began in March and continued into July, using more than 7 billion gallons during the driest months of the year. That’s enough water to fill 11,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. Thanks to recent rainfall, Tampa Bay Water was able to begin filling the reservoir once again.
“If we continue to get enough rain to sustain the flows in the Hillsborough River, Tampa Bypass Canal and the Alafia River, we’ll return the reservoir back to full,” said Laila Martin, the regional operations and maintenance senior manager.
Last year, the region saw drought conditions take the reservoir to a low of 2.3 billion gallons. Tropical Storm Debbie and Hurricanes Helene and Milton, alongside the conservation efforts of Tampa Bay residents made it possible for the reservoir to be refilled within 2.5 months, replenishing Tampa Bay Water’s backup water supply.
Those same conservation efforts can help keep our reservoir fuller year-round. Much of the water used at home is spent on lawn watering. When it rains, skip a week or more of watering, fix broken sprinkler heads and make sure sprinklers are watering the lawn and not the street.
Find out more ways to save at tampabaywater.org/savewater.
