The purpose of the
Hillsborough Independent Monitoring Program (HIMP)
is to detect and quantify environmental changes that may occur as a result of
new regional water supply projects that are being implemented in Hillsborough County
by Tampa Bay Water (TBW), the local water supply authority responsible for
developing and providing municipal water supplies to member governments in the Tampa
Bay area.
In July 1998, the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough
County (EPCHC) and the Hillsborough County Water Resource Team recommended that the
HIMP be established in order to complement and build upon the EPCHC’s existing
monitoring network. That network has been in place for more than twenty years, and
was not designed to assess the environmental impacts of specific water supply
projects. The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners concurred with the
staff recommendation, and established funding for the HIMP under its Tampa Bay Water
Issues Additional Support Fund.
