Reservoir Checkup Sees 'Severe' Cracks

By MIKE SALINERO The Tampa Tribune

Published: Aug 30, 2007

TAMPA - Cracks in the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir are severe enough that Florida's top dam engineer is traveling here this week to inspect the facility.

Reports released Wednesday by the state Department of Environmental Protection describe "severe" cracks in the soil-and-cement wall on the inside of the embankment enclosing the reservoir. The reports were backed up Wednesday by Richard Cantrell, interim director of the DEP's Southwest District, who called the cracks "significant."

The reports seem at odds with statements by Tampa Bay Water engineers who maintain the cracks were anticipated and that repairs over the past several months are nothing more than "general maintenance."

"I think the specific distinction we need to make is this is a maintenance issue versus a structural issue, which this is not," Tampa Bay Water spokeswoman Michelle Rapp said.

Cantrell and Tampa Bay Water officials insist the cracks have not compromised the integrity of the 360-foot-wide walls, and that there is no danger the walls will erode and rupture. The walls have a drainage system, plus a tough fabric liner to prevent erosion.

"Nothing about the cracking that has occurred to date puts the integrity of the dam surrounding the reservoir in risk," Cantrell said.

Yet Cantrell said the cracks are serious enough to warrant further inspections by agency engineers. He said he was comfortable that Tampa Bay Water's efforts to close the cracks with grout will contain the problem.

"Tampa Bay Water is in fact out there grouting these cracks, fixing these cracks," Cantrell said. "That's how you deal with this kind of impact on soil cement."

Storms Wants More Information

The explanations did not satisfy state Sen. Ronda Storms, a Valrico Republican and former Tampa Bay Water board member. Storms said she was disappointed when she asked the DEP for documents related to inspections made at the dam and received a copy of one e-mail.

"I'm not satisfied with the documentation," Storms said.

She wrote Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday to ask for an independent verification of the reservoir's structural integrity and to verify that the cracking is typical for reservoirs of this size. Storms also wanted to be assured that the cracking was not caused by sinkholes.

A Crist spokesman said the governor received the letter but decided to leave the DEP in charge of the investigation.

News of the cracking alarmed some residents in the small community on Wendell Avenue in east Hillsborough County, outside the reservoir.

"Can you imagine what it's going to be like in 10 years if this is what happens after two years?" said Charlayne Penrose, who can see the berm from the driveway of her 2 1/2 -acre property. "I'm very concerned."

Some residents said they've thought about moving but can't afford to, given escalating land prices. Even if they could move, they might have trouble finding buyers given the proximity of the reservoir, a mile to 700 feet away in some places.

Others complained that they weren't told about the cracks, even though workers have tended to them for three months.

Dry Weather Caused Cracks

Tampa Bay Water engineers say the cracks developed when dry weather caused water levels to drop. The receding water stressed the cement-and-soil covering, said Tampa Bay Water engineer Mandy Rice.

"There's no steel in it, no rocks in it like concrete," Rice said. "It's for erosion control from rain and wave action."

Rice said the covering was chosen because it's less expensive than chunked rock called riprap, a common bank stabilizer.

Engineers noticed the first cracks in December, and more developed as the water continued to drop to 2.5 billion gallons in July. It was the reservoir's lowest level since it started operating in 2005. Some cracks are 70 feet long. One inspection report by an independent engineer hired by Tampa Bay Water said some of the cracks were 5 to 6 inches wide and 3 to 4 inches deep.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham, who sits on the Tampa Bay Water board, said he was not told about problems at the reservoir, and he intends to get more information on the cracking.

Rapp, the Tampa Bay Water spokeswoman, said work on the walls was described in semimonthly reports to board members along with other maintenance items.

Tampa Bay Water supplies wholesale water to public utilities in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, and Tampa, St. Petersburg and New Port Richey.

The Young reservoir can store as much as 15 billion gallons and was built to store water from rivers during the rainy season. It can provide more than 60 million gallons a day during the dry season.

New Channel 8 producer Steve Andrews and Tribune reporter Rich Shopes contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com.