TAMPA, FL, June 16, 2005 -- The C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir project has been named the Environmental Project of the Year by the Florida chapter of the American Public Works Association. The project is owned by Tampa Bay Water. HDR was responsible for siting, design, permitting and construction oversight of the storage element of the overall system known as the Enhanced Surface Water Supply System.
With a growing population and a limited amount of groundwater to serve both the environment and people, Tampa Bay Water embarked on a massive effort to identify and develop new water supply sources. A cornerstone of the resulting Master Water Supply Plan was the C.W. Bill Young Reservoir. This off-stream reservoir will provide a sustainable yield of 66 million gallons per day of surface water destined for treatment and distribution to the region's seven member governments.
Fifteen potential sites were evaluated before the site was selected in southeastern Hillsborough County. The reservoir is on a 5,200-acre site with a footprint covering approximately 1,100 acres.
Unique environmental aspects included modifying the original berm configuration to avoid impacts to high quality upland habitat supporting federal and state protected species, even though this reduced the overall storage facility. Due to the size of the reservoir footprint, complete avoidance of wetlands could not be accomplished. Nearly 450 acres of wetlands have been created or enhanced on-site, and more than 600 acres of upland acres have been enhanced and preserved. The 5,200 acres of land purchased by the Southwest Florida Water Management District resulted in preservation of natural resources including all or parts of Long Flat Creek, Doe Branch, Chito Branch and Pringle Branch, all of which drain into Fishhawk Creek and eventually the Alafia River. These forested linear wildlife corridors will continue to accommodate large and small mammal movements across the region. In addition, hundreds of acres of both arid and moderately moist uplands have been preserved, providing wildlife habitat in perpetuity.
One agency concern was potential for seepage from the bottom of the reservoir since the bottom of the reservoir is not fully lined. HDR developed an extensive ecologic and hydrologic monitoring and management plan to determine if such seepage is occurring and if so, how it expressed in the surrounding environment. This plan provides assurances that the environment will be protected during facility operations.
HDR has been part of the Florida landscape since opening an office in the Tampa Bay area in 1974. HDR has offices in Sarasota, Tampa, Orlando, Bartow, Miami, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville and Pensacola, and numerous construction management offices throughout west-central Florida. More than 325 employees offer a full range of engineering, architectural, environmental, community planning and management consulting services to public and private sector clients in Florida.
Omaha, Neb.-based HDR (www.hdrinc.com) is an architectural, engineering and consulting firm that excels at complex projects and solving challenges for clients. More than 4,100 employee-owners, including architects, engineers, consultants, scientists, planners and construction managers, in over 100 locations worldwide, pool their strengths to provide solutions beyond the scope of traditional A/E/C firms.
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