Board of Directors
General Manager
General Counsel

	Ed Turanchik -Chairman, Commissioner - Hillsborough County
	David Fischer -Vice Chairman, Mayor - St. Petersburg
	Stephen M. Seibert -Board Member,  Commissioner - Pinellas County
	Ed Collins -Board Member,  Commissioner - Pasco County
	R. Michael Salmon -Board Member, Coordinator - Environmental Services & Public Works Projects - Tampa
	G. Frank Parker, Jr.- Board Member,  Councilman - New Port Richey
	Jerry L. Maxwell - General Manager
	Donald D. Conn - General Counsel

The West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority is Florida's largest provider of wholesale water. Created in 1974, the Authority's mission is to provide its member governments with adequate and reliable supplies of high-quality water to meet the area's present and future needs in an economically and environmentally sound manner.

The Authority's members include Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties and the cities of St. Petersburg, Tampa and New Port Richey. Each is represented by an elected official (or their designee) who sits on the Board of Directors. New Port Richey is represented on the Board by a non-voting member.

Water is produced for the public through a variety of facilities. The Authority owns and operates eight groundwater supply facilities and one surface water supply facility in conjunction with its six member governments. The Authority also co-manages two groundwater supply facilities owned by the city of St. Petersburg. The members own and operate three other groundwater supply sources, one surface water reservoir and locally connected supply wells. In total, the Authority owns or coordinates 15 water supply facilities. Total production from Authority-owned facilities is about 42 billion gallons annually, an average of about 116 million gallons a day.

All facilities controlled by the Authority are permitted by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), a regulatory agency of the State of Florida. SWFWMD has strict guidelines for groundwater withdrawals, and the Authority is in full compliance with all permit requirements.

The Authority and its member governments are leaders in establishing new supply alternatives for future water development to serve the tri-county area. Since its formation more than 20 years ago, the Authority continues to explore innovative solutions, including desalination, to meet Tampa Bay's water needs. Other innovative ideas such as storm water augmentation and industrial exchange are outlined in the Authority's Master Water Plan, a comprehensive regional water supply solution.

Years of reduced rainfall combined with increased population have strained the Tampa Bay area's drinking water supply. The Authority, its member governments and SWFWMD have worked closely to control demand and reduce consumption of this valuable resource. However, conservation alone cannot meet the growing needs of Tampa Bay area residents and businesses.

The Authority and its members recognize their role as leaders in solving the area's water needs and have developed an aggressive plan to ensure the well-being of Tampa Bay's residents and its economy -- The Master Water Plan. Developed with input from SWFWMD, our members and the public, the Master Water Plan balances the needs of the environment and the community.

As adopted by its board of directors, the Master Water Plan will bring 50 million gallons per day of new supply to the regional system in six years. The Master Water Plan includes an adequate reserves to enable respond to fluctuations in demand, environmental stress or system failures. The plan also provides for continued study of developmental supply alternatives including brackish, seawater and surface water initiatives.

The Authority's Master Water Plan ensures a sustainable supply of high-quality water to meet the Tampa Bay region's current and future demand at the lowest possible cost to its member governments, and in turn, their rate payers.

West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority is a streamlined organization of 103.5 full-time positions, primarily concentrated in the scientific, engineering and technical disciplines. In addition to the General Manager, the Authority is made up of the following divisions:

Planning and Development Division

This division is responsible for strategic resource planning and designing new water supply facilities. Division functions include property acquisition, preliminary design, engineering, permitting and bidding as well as conservation. It is currently managing feasibility studies and preliminary design of the Master Water Plan's six water supply projects and key pipeline interconnections.

Resource Evaluation and Protection

This division is responsible for obtaining and maintaining the necessary water use permits for existing and future water supplies; evaluating the hydrological and ecological impacts of all system withdrawals; and monitoring the water quality of potable water supplied to the Authority's member governments. Another responsibility of this division is resource optimization, which includes the development and application of cost-effective operational rules based on real-time data for production, rainfall and water levels. This information combined with intelligent computerized analysis will support environmental stewardship while ensuring adequate supplies of drinking water.

Operations and Facilities Management

Resource Management handles the construction and start-up of new water supply facilities as well as the operation and maintenance of all facilities and equipment used in the supply, treatment, transmission and delivery of water to the Authority's membership. The vast array of equipment includes wells, well pumps, chemical storage, feed process control equipment for water treatment, storage tanks, large diameter pipelines, meter stations for the transmission and delivery of water, and the extensive telemetry and computer equipment used for systems control and data acquisition. It is also responsible for implementation of the capital replacement program for the $125 million of existing water supply facilities.

Finance and Administration

The Finance Division is responsible for acquiring all finances necessary for new and existing systems, financial reporting, budgeting, audits, purchasing, inventory and fixed assets, human resources, and records management. The division is responsible for procuring, managing, and reporting the financial resources of the Authority. The division sells Water Revenue Bonds, collects payments for water supply from member governments, and maintains all records in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Assets of the Authority total $174,139,831, and the capital and operating budget is approximately $100 million.

Click HERE to view the Authority's Proposed 1997-98 Budget in a graphical flow chart. Expenses are represented across the top, by each facility. Revenues are listed across the bottom. Fund balance carry forwards are not shown in the model.

General Counsel

In addition to these divisions, a full-time in-house General Counsel, reporting to the Board of Directors, provides legal support to the Board and Authority staff.
 

The Authority's operations are divided among two office locations. The Authority's headquarters is located in Clearwater, while the other operation is located in Pasco County.

• WCRWSA is a regional water supply authority created on Oct. 25, 1974, by enabling state legislation (FS, 1974, Chapter 373) and a five-party interlocal agreement between elected officials in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties and the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg. The city of New Port Richey was added as a non-voting member in July 1982.

• A not-for-profit agency, the Authority is the largest wholesale water supplier in Florida. Its member governments serve about 1.8 million residents in the Tampa Bay area. By the year 2015, consumer population is projected to be more than 2.2 million.

• Tampa Bay's 1994 water consumption averaged 132 gallons per capita per day (gpcd), lower than the 16-county water management district average of 142 gpcd.

• The 225 mgd average water supply provided for public consumption by the Authority and its member governments represents only 45 percent of the total water used in the tri-county area.

• The Authority holds and manages nine water use permits totaling 145 million gallons per day. Daily water use in the tri-county area during the 1994-95 water year averaged 225 mgd. By the year 2015, average daily demand is projected to be approximately 270 mgd, based on increased conservation.

• There are approximately 8,000 water use permits in the 16-county water management district. In the tri-county area, the Authority and its members hold 27 of the 91 public supply permits.

• The Authority maintains approximately 500 ecological and 375 hydrological monitoring stations. Currently, the Authority conducts ongoing environmental monitoring on approximately 23,000 acres.

• The Authority's facilities have a current estimated asset value at $124,989,329 including depreciation. Present assets are valued at $174,139,831. A $120 million regional capital improvement program is currently under construction. An additional $164 million in construction of new supplies has been committed for implementation by the year 2001.

• The 1990 Census showed 1,966,844 people living in the tri-county area. Of this total, the Authority and its members serve approximately 1.8 million people. Projects planned, or in progress, will increase the reliability of water supply available to this population.