Since Tampa Bay’s out of water, here are some tips to survive the shortage
By Ben Luongo
PoHo contributor
Ben Luongo is a USF political science graduate student. He will be graduating this spring.
Tampa’s 15 billion gallon reservoir is now basically drained and the rainy season is months away. According to Tampa Bay Water spokeswomen Michelle Robinson, Tampa is now going to have to rely on both the underground water aquifer, which could increase the risk of sinkholes, and the small of amount of desalinated water from the plant.
When people think of Florida they might find it unlikely that it would suffer from a water shortage. However, after decades of development even a state surrounded by water is prone to shortages, and Florida is not the only one. According to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 36 states are projected to suffer water shortages in the next five years. Water shortage is a problem felt at local levels, like the city and state, but also at national and international levels. This means that efforts to remedy water shortages are going to require both state and federal solutions.
However, on a more individual level, there is stuff that we as Tampanians can do to reduce the amount of water that we use on a daily basis. Here are some easy and cheap examples:
