Water Resources maintains 500 miles of reclaimed water pipes and pumps more than 35 million gallons of reclaimed water per day

Hillsborough County Water Resources has been in the reclaimed water business since the 1980s. Over the years, the program has grown and continues to be a significant asset for the County and its residents by repurposing treated wastewater that is used for irrigation.

Today, Hillsborough County Water Resources maintains 500 miles of reclaimed water pipes. Hillsborough has 12 reclaimed water pump stations throughout the county, pumps more than 35 million gallons of reclaimed water per day on a 12-month annual average, and it has 22 reclaimed water storage tanks to hold 113 million gallons of reclaimed water.

Water Resources has more than 27,000 residential and commercial reclaimed water customers. They include14 golf courses, schools, and parks that use the County's treated reclaimed water, and six industrial users that also use the County's treated reclaimed water, including Tampa Electric Co., National Gypsum, and Cargill. Commercial operations also use reclaimed water for cooling towers and dust control on construction sites.

But what is reclaimed water and why is it being used?

Reclaimed water is treated wastewater. Wastewater is water that flows down the drain. To create reclaimed water, County licensed operators treat the wastewater that comes into five advanced wastewater treatment plants in the county. Once wastewater goes through the treatment process, it becomes reclaimed water, and it can be used for irrigation.