CALLS TO ACTION

Act Now - Stop Funding PURE

Tampa City Council will vote on $1.1 Million for the PURE Project on September 15.

Write to the Mayor jane.castor@tampagov.net and City Council members tampacitycouncil@tampagov.net

Tell them to Stop Funding PURE!

PURE plans to reuse highly treated “reclaimed” wastewater to supplement public drinking water and to provide additional water to the Lower Hillsborough River to maintain healthy water levels.

PURE plans to put up to 50 Million Gallons per day of that highly treated wastewater into the reservoir, aquifer and/or into the Hillsborough River. Serious questions remain unanswered as to what effects this plan will have on the aquifer and the river’s wildlife, as well as human health.

Without serious consideration of the role of water conservation or cooperating on regional solutions, there is a rush to invest millions in PURE while a host of serious questions remain unanswered.

PURE is

• an extremely expensive water project that would significantly raise citizens’ water bills, and
• unnecessarily adds highly treated wastewater to our drinking water supply, and
• does not prioritize the health of Tampa’s citizens and wildlife by making sure the water is safe
  before designing and building this huge water project.
  If you are concerned about highly treated wastewater being added to your drinking water, then write to Tampa City Council and Mayor Jane Castor that you are opposed to PURE and you do not want to see your money being spent on this unwise and unsafe water reuse project.
  Specific Concerns:
  HEALTH AND SAFETY
• As currently proposed, PURE would put insufficiently treated wastewater in our drinking water reservoir, the aquifer and/or the Hillsborough River.
• PURE will be required to clean/filter wastewater including sewage from all residential toilets, as well as hospital waste, and industrial wastewater–all of which use the same sewer system.
• Wastewater contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and hormones are much more concentrated than they are in drinking water, or not in drinking water at all.
• Safe levels of many wastewater contaminants are not known. There are no state or federal regulations or drinking water standards that specify “safe levels” for many contaminants.
• Wastewater contaminants include PFAS, also called “forever chemicals” because they build up in the human body and can result in serious medical conditions. These dangerous chemicals exceed EPA Health Advisory Lifetime guidelines. If Tampa’s children or pregnant women drink water containing those forever chemicals, they will likely suffer health issues.

PURE WASTEWATER TREATMENT ISSUES

• To prevent new or higher levels of contaminants from getting into our drinking water, aquifer, or Hillsborough River, PURE must incorporate the best treatment processes available. The City has not committed to using the best proven treatment processes.
• The PURE project is being rushed to be built before safety and contaminant standards are set.
• PURE is being designed by the company that will build the project. Scientists, not water engineers who have a contract to build the plant that they will design themselves, should decide on the safest method to treat wastewater and the safest ways to dispose of it so as not to permanently damage the aquifer, people or wildlife.
• Under the present plan, Tampa will no longer be able to assure residents, as it can today, that their water is safe to drink because it meets all federal and state standards.
• The health and safety of our citizens, especially our children, should be the priority.
  ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
• PURE would put highly treated wastewater in our drinking water reservoir, the aquifer and/or the Hillsborough River, potentially causing long-term and irreparable harm.
• The effects of injecting huge quantities of highly treated wastewater into the aquifer under Tampa are unknown. There is the potential for substantial negative effects.
  COST
• Clean, affordable water is a basic right. PURE is expensive and will substantially increase our water bills and not provide citizens and our environment with necessary protection.
• PURE reuses wastewater. To provide a proven cleaning system to remove most contaminants requires expensive technology and systems that cost billions of dollars to build and to run.
  NEED
• Tampa’s future water needs can be met through other measures - through conservation or by the other alternatives that will not be as costly or as harmful.
• Reusing wastewater should be the last choice when all other solutions have been exhausted.
  PUBLIC OUTREACH

• Although public outreach was included in the first round of funding for the PURE project, City officials have not informed City residents of true costs and risks associated with PURE. They have not described the alternatives that do exist to meet our water needs.

Recycling treated wastewater is very expensive and a health hazard if the water is not treated effectively. Tampa has other options and putting citizens and our environment at risk should be at the bottom of the list.

Stop PURE now. It’s a Project that is Just Too Costly, in every way. We simply cannot afford to go down this path.

Tampa City Council will vote on funding for the PURE Project on September 15.

Before September 14, tell City leadership to STOP funding PURE. City Council: tampacitycouncil@tampagov.net
The Mayor: jane.castor@tampagov.net.