HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Tampa's Wastewater Department is hitting a major milestone as it enters into the final phase of a massive project.
The project upgrades the wastewater system by replacing the old and aging pipeline with a new one, benefiting Tampa residents for decades to come. It also connects portions of it, creating one of the longest tunnels of its kind in North America.
“It’s the largest steel tunnel constructed in the US using microtunnel technology and about the third in the Western hemisphere," said Eric Weiss, director of the department.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, microtunneling is a method for installing pipeline that uses a remote control machine, laser system, jacking system and pressure on the face of the excavation to balance groundwater and earth pressure.
Weiss said it's a huge deal. The microtunnel runs 60 feet below the water surface and replaces an aging pipeline built in the 50s.
“Now it's 70 years later, and in accordance with Mayor Castor's sustainability and resiliency lens, it does have a higher risk of a pipeline failure. Which would adversely affect the citizens of Tampa,” Weiss said.
He said with the new system in place, there is a significantly lower risk of a pipeline burst. The pipeline carries 15 million gallons of wastewater a day, which is about 30% of the total wastewater generated in Tampa.
The project costs $83 million. Weiss said they entered into the final phase of the project, and the last portion will take about four months to complete.
