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Part of Tampa Bay Water's future arrived several years ago when the water wholesaler implemented a master water plan to meet growing demand while satisfying stringent environmental expectations. An integral part of that plan came to life recently with the opening of the largest plant in the United States for converting seawater to drinking water. The 25 MGD, state-of-the-art desalination plant now accounts for 10 percent of the wholesaler's total water supply. It is estimated that by 2008 the new desalination plant will supply 35 MGD. In addition to creating desalinated water, the wholesaler's master water plan also calls for more development of surface water sources so that less groundwater is drawn from the Floridan Aquifer. Drawing large amounts of water from the aquifer was beginning to damage wetlands and reduce lake levels in some areas. Tampa Bay Water develops and supplies drinking water to its members - Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties and the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa - which in turn supply water to nearly 2 million people in the region. Its desalination plant will produce the least expensive potable water of any desalination plant - about $2 per thousand gallons, compared with desalination costs of $4 to $6 per thousand in most other situations. American Cast Iron Pipe Company (AMERICAN) provided more than 13 miles of 42-inch Fastite® and Lok-Ring® ductile iron pipe and fittings as part of the $74 million facility. The AMERICAN pipe was used for a finished water line conveying water from the desalination plant to a water treatment plant. Jason Seubert, project manager for contractor Garney Companies of Tampa, said there were several advantages to using AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe on the project. "Its flexibility allowed for adjustments in the field, and it was easy to install," he said. "It was lighter than the concrete pipe against which it was bid, so it was much easier to handle. We like AMERICAN products. We've used AMERICAN pipe on a lot of projects. Here, it was no different. The product was good, and their service was great. We always had pipe in front of us as we worked." The desalination plant was built at Tampa Electric Company's Big Bend Power Station site in Hillsborough County. The desalination plant will use the cooling water from the power plant as its raw material. It takes 44 million gallons of seawater to make 25 million gallons of drinking water. The process involves intense filtering in which freshwater is "squeezed" from saltwater. This leaves the concentrated seawater behind, resulting in freshwater to drink. Desalinated water is of the purest and highest-quality water available, but it has little taste. So calcium carbonate is added to make the treated water taste more like water that comes from the tap.
AMERICAN at Work Across FloridaAMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe has been utilized on several Florida projects aimed at helping the environment by reducing the amount of groundwater pumped for potable water consumption. In addition to the desalination plant brought on line by Tampa Bay Water (see related story on preceding page), AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe has been used on several other Florida projects designed to cut down on the amount of groundwater pumped for irrigation - typically lawn-watering - purposes. One of those projects involved improvements to Oakhurst Road in an urbanized area of Pinellas County. There, the Pinellas County Utilities installed two transmission mains - one to handle reclaimed water and another as a sewer force main. In all, 40,000 feet of AMERICAN Fastite® and Flex-Ring® pipe in diameters ranging from 8- through 36-inch were needed. Fast-Grip® gaskets also were used on the project. "AMERICAN's pipe really fit this work for a couple of reasons," said Mike Beukema, vice president and senior estimator for contractor Westra Construction of Palmetto, Florida. "The ductile iron transmission main will serve the owner's needs well into the future, specifically the sewer force main that had a special lining to prevent internal corrosion. This product should provide the owner with a maintenance-free system for quite some time. "Also, we had situations with 12 to 14 feet of cover over these pipes, and AMERICAN Ductile Iron pipe's ability to withstand the loads was better and more efficient than other materials that were considered." Parsons Engineering Science in Tampa served as the project's engineer. Beukema also was involved in Westra's work as the contractor for Hillsborough County's Falkenburg South County Reclaimed Water Transmission Main project, a design-build job that required 10.4 miles of 24-inch AMERICAN Fastite® pipe and Flex-Ring® pipe. "We ran into numerous unmarked obstructions," Beukema said. "So we had a good number of field cuts to perform, and AMERICAN's pipe was great for that in terms of ease of installation. We needed several fittings on short notice because of unmarked existing utilities. AMERICAN provided us with the needed fittings in an expeditious manner. They pulled some of the fittings from their Birmingham plant and some from their Florida depot. Their service was great." The engineer for the job was McKim and Creed of Clearwater, Florida. The City of Tampa's South Tampa Area Reclaimed (STAR) Transmission Main project is the city's first endeavor to distribute reclaimed water to residents. More than 5,100 residents and businesses have signed up to be part of the system - Florida's first metered system for reclaimed water, said Ken Wilson, vice president and water and wastewater program manager for PBS&J in Tampa, the engineer for the project. Some 40,000 feet of AMERICAN Fastite® and Flex-Ring® pipe in 24-, 30- and 36-inch diameters is being installed during the first phase of the project, scheduled for completion by January 2004. A longtime user of ductile iron pipe, the City of Tampa specified ductile for transmission mains in the STAR system because of its reliability and dependability. "AMERICAN's service during this phase was great," Wilson said. "AMERICAN is a great organization - they always have been." The contractor for the project was Rockdale Pipeline in Temple Terrace, Florida. The Pasco County Utilities West Central Reuse Interconnect in Pasco County provides the capability to transfer reclaimed water from one side of the county to the other. Installed in a mostly rural area, it involved more than 20 miles of AMERICAN Fastite® pipe and Fast-Grip® gaskets. King Engineering and Associates of Tampa was the engineer for the project, with Garney Companies' Orlando office serving as general contractor. |
 AMERICAN provided more than 13 miles of 42-inch Fastite® and Lok-Ring® Ductile Iron pipe and fittings as part of the $74 million desalination plant. The AMERICAN pipe was used for a finished water line conveying water from the new plant to a water treatment plant.
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