Hydrobiological Monitoring Program for the Alafia River & Tampa Bypass Canal Water Supply Projects

The Hillsborough River.

The development and implementation of a comprehensive hydrobiological monitoring program (HBMP) was required as a condition of approval in the water use permits issued to Tampa Bay Water by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) for both the Alafia River and the Tampa Bypass Canal Water Supply projects. In May 1999, Tampa Bay Water selected PBS&J to design and then implement the HBMP. A consensus-based process was developed and implemented for the HBMP design phase. This approach created a coordinated, interactive forum from which critical input was provided by a team of consultant and university experts, as well as representatives of federal, state, and local environmental regulatory and resource management agencies and various environmental activist organizations. In September 1999, PBS&J completed the technical report presenting the final HBMP.  The HBMP defines three monitoring program elements including: hydrology/water quality; biota; and habitat/vegetation.

Since April 2000, PBS&J has served as the prime contractor and program manager for the implementation of the HBMP. In addition to being responsible for the collection of all hydrologic, water quality, and benthic invertebrate samples, PBS&J also provides the following services in this role:

• Overall quality assurance and review of each project element.
• Collection, review, documentation, and standardization of results and databases provided by each subconsultant.
• Statistical analyses of each project element in relation to both seasonal variability and potential long-term patterns and changes.
• Preparation of annual data reports and biannual interpretive reports.
• Overall financial management of the HBMP.
• Other as-needed services.

The HBMP design is unique in that it defines a process by which adverse impacts could be determined and mitigated. This process includes a hierarchy of management and regulatory actions to be implemented in response to detected hydrobiological changes in the affected waterbodies to avoid or minimize any adverse impacts resulting from the permitted surface water withdrawals.