Hillsborough County has opened the way for up to $650 million in utility financing tied to the One Water Campus, a South County project within a broader $1.6 billion effort to expand and modernize water infrastructure as the area grows.
The One Water Campus is planned as an advanced wastewater treatment facility, part of a countywide approach that links drinking water, wastewater and reclaimed water as one system. It is expected to serve South County’s long-term wastewater needs through 2050 while supporting a new reclaimed-water network.
The larger One Water Program serves Apollo Beach, Brandon, Gibsonton, Riverview, Ruskin, Wimauma, Sun City and Valrico. Its active work includes new wastewater and reclaimed-water pipelines and the planned Balm Road Super Pump Station, which is designed to move up to 56 million gallons of wastewater a day to the new treatment facility.
The utility revenue notes can finance the acquisition, construction, expansion, replacement and equipping of capital improvements across the county’s utility system, with the One Water Campus identified as the central project.
The action comes as the county considers a proposed $14.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2027, built around the possibility of property-tax reform while maintaining public safety, infrastructure, equipment and existing services. The proposal also calls for savings and investment in county employees; commissioners are scheduled to adopt a final budget Sept. 24.
Commissioners also moved toward expanding school-zone speed enforcement in unincorporated Hillsborough and approved $62,500 for greenhouse upgrades at Meacham Ag Ed Inc.’s urban farm on East Scott Street in Tampa. Another $62,500 was reallocated to Madi’s Movement to support employment and economic-mobility opportunities for young adults aging out of foster care.