Water Department’s New Chlorine Contact Basin to Help Maintain Water Quality 

Sep 22, 2023

The City of Tampa Water Department is making a major step in sustaining the future quality and consistency of its drinking water. Starting today, the David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility will begin using a new high-tech Chlorine Contact Basin. The Chlorine Contact Basin will use jet mixers to rapidly disperse chemicals used in the final disinfection process. This is an important step that ensures our potable water is safe for consumption when it is delivered throughout our 211-mile service area.

The new Chlorine Contact Basin will replace the current chemical mixing system that was built in the 1970s. In addition to helping maintain the plant’s water quality, the new Chlorine Contact Basin will:

Allow the plant to better control the chemicals used to disinfect water.

Optimize the shelf life of our drinking water in the distribution system.

Constructing the Chlorine Contact Basin required 400 tons of rebar and 5,650 tons of concrete, or roughly 320 concrete trucks.

The David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility was originally constructed in the 1920s, with the capacity to produce 8 million gallons of water per day (MGD). Today, the plant produces and provides approximately 80 MGD of drinking water to the 725,000 residents who work and live in the City of Tampa water service area. The new Chlorine Contact Basin marks the completion of a key phase in the $95 million High Service Pump Station and Miscellaneous Improvements project, which will increase reliability and efficiency of the Water Treatment Facility to meet the future drinking water needs of the City of Tampa.

The project is funded by PIPES, the Progressive Infrastructure Planning to Ensure Sustainability. The $2.9 billion funding plan allows the City to renew infrastructure, prevent breakdowns, and provide permanent fixes to our 100-year-old water and wastewater systems.

Media interested in learning more about the Chlorine Contact Basin can speak to Water Production Manager John Ring. To schedule an interview contact [email protected].