Hillsborough County believes that new sources of water are needed so that existing well field pumping, and the adverse environmental impacts associated with that pumping, can be reduced. The County is greatly concerned, however, that the majority of these new supplies and their related infrastructure are physically located within the County. With that concern in mind, the County's goals as they relate to the master Water Plan are:

1. Protect the quality of life in Hillsborough County.
2. Ensure that environmental degradation caused by the new projects is minimized.
3. Protect its citizenry, their neighborhoods, and the County's physical and natural resources from adverse impacts that could result from the projects.

Because of the importance of water supplies to the region and because of the equally important need to secure these supplies in a way that is protective of our natural resources and of private sector interests, Hillsborough County has formed the Water Resource Team.

Specific Objectives

The mission of the Hillsborough County Water Resource Team is to address water supply and natural resource protection issues, as they relate to projects proposed or operated in Hillsborough County by Tampa Bay Water. Specifically, the Water Resource Team is charged to:

1. Pro-actively coordinate with Tampa Bay Water to develop new and innovative water supply projects that are sensitive to the protection of natural resources.

2. Protect the County's environmental resources from adverse impacts that may result from water supply development projects undertaken by Tampa Bay Water.

3. Evaluate the water supply projects proposed by Tampa Bay Water for public health, ecological sustainability and cost effectiveness, in order to influence Tampa Bay Water to improve the projects in these areas where deficiencies exist.

4. Evaluate the operation of Tampa Bay Water's existing water supply projects and recommend actions to protect the County's environmental resources from adverse impacts.

5. Evaluate related proposed plans, rules and other initiatives undertaken by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection with the aim of protecting the County's environmental resources and safeguarding the quality of life for citizens of Hillsborough County.

6. Recommend action to the Board of County Commissioners and the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission that will safeguard the rights of the County, its citizenry and the Environmental Protection Commission.