END TIMES WEATHER:Drought draws down Tampa area water reserves

TAMPA, Fla.-A reservoir that supplements the water supply for the Tampa area has dropped to a historically low level because of severe drought, officials said.Unless more than 20 inches of rain falls over the next few months, the huge reservoir in eastern Hillsborough County may no longer be useful.The water in the 2-mile-long concrete bowl is typically used to supplement water drawn from the ground in well fields across the region.
"It's possible we could be out of water (in the reservoir) by the end of next spring," said Alison Adams, a senior manager with Tampa Bay Water.When full, the reservoir holds 15 billion gallons of water. On Monday, about 2.5 billion gallons remained, about 17 percent of capacity.For now, the reservoir continues to provide about 20 million gallons daily to homes and businesses in Tampa Bay area counties.The drought means there is no source to replenish water pumped from the reservoir. That means well fields will be taxed even more, drawing down the aquifer, draining lakes and wetlands and even shrinking the flow of rivers.Tampa Bay Water built the reservoir in 2005 to get the area through the annual dry season in the spring,but the drought forced the utility to start supplementing fresh water supplies from the reservoir in October, months before the spring.More than 90 percent of the state is in some level of drought.
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