UPDATE: Council to Learn About Morris Bridge Sinkhole Pumping

Update: The agenda for the Marketing Workshop at 5:30 p.m. has been posted with this story.

Original Story:
A Southwest Florida Water Management District plan to take water from the Morris Bridge Sink has some Temple Terrace residents worried about the effects on the Hillsborough River, but the district says there’s no cause for alarm.

The district will discuss its plan at Tuesday’s Temple Terrace City Council meeting, according to the meeting agenda. Councilman David Pogorilich has encouraged residents to attend the meeting to let the district know how important the river and its minimum levels are to Temple Terrace.

Morris Bridge Sink is a sinkhole in the Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve off Morris Bridge Road.

As part of a Lower Hillsborough River Recovery Strategy, the district is looking into using Morris Bridge Sink to provide water to the Hillsborough River below the City of Tampa Dam at Rowlett Park, said Robyn O. Felix, the district’s media relations manager. Water would be pumped from the sink and transferred by the Tampa Bypass Canal and the Hillsborough River Reservoir to the river below the dam.

The portion of the Hillsborough River that winds through Temple Terrace, including the wildlife and foliage, would not be negatively affected, Felix said.

“As part of this assessment, the district is performing groundwater modeling to ensure that any withdrawals from the sink will not harm isolated wetlands located near the sink, private wells, or the reach of the Hillsborough River closest to the sink,” she wrote in an email. “Due to the need to prevent impacts to the hydrologically sensitive isolated wetlands that are located near the sink, it is very unlikely that any permitted withdrawals from the sink would have effects that would extend to the Hillsborough River.”

Also during the meeting, the council is scheduled to:

• consider increasing local business taxes by 5 percent;
• consider an ordinance that would not provide early voting in the event on a municipal run-off election;
• receive public comment and make a final votes on the text amendment to the Future Land Use element of the Comprehensive Plan;
• hear presentations from the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board and the Florida City and County Management Association’s Range Riders; and
• recognize the “Officer of the Year.”

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at . It will be  live on Verizon channel 39 and Bright House channel 950 and rebroadcast on Mondays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Wednesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m.

Just before the meeting, the council will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the Conference Room behind the Council Chambers for a Marketing Workshop.