Hillsborough River Watershed: Inventory, Causes, and Pollutant Loads

This article provides an inventory of the Hillsborough River Watershed, its causes, and estimated pollutant loads. It discusses the sources that need to be controlled, including agriculture, residential areas, and recreational activities. The article also highlights the potential threats to water quality and the need for efficient monitoring of groundwater quality.

RUNNING HEADER: HILLSBOROUGH RIVER WATERSHED 1
Hillsborough River Watershed
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Watershed inventory
The Hillsborough River is the main water source for drinking for the City of Tampa.
Hillsborough River and Florida’s three other main rivers begin in the Pasco and Polk counties’
Green Swamp (Weber & Perry, 2006). From the swamp, the river flows 54 miles southwesterly
into the Hillsborough or Tampa Bay. From the Polk, Polk, and Hillsborough counties, the river
flows into a 1,300-acre reservoir and an urban landscape of the industry and concrete seawalls.
Hillsborough Rivers has an intimate relationship with its watershed. The Hillsborough River
watershed at Tampa Florida covers approximately 690 square miles of Florida west-central.
Source: US Environmental Protection Agency
Additional and analysis of additional data

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The Hillsborough River watershed receives annually an average precipitation of 51 inches. Dry
years has seen the precipitations of 32 inches and 77 inches in the wet years (Kish et al, 2010). A
typical year sees the watershed’s annual precipitation produced by thunderstorm in a four-month
period between June and September. Monthly rainfall that can be described as normal is greatest
in August (over 8 inches) and least in April (less than 2 inches).
Causes and sources that need to be controlled
Water derived from the Hillsborough River watershed is used for various purposes. The use
classifies the river as a class III. Generally, class III waters are utterly contaminated and thereby
contain harmful agents, pesticides and toxigenic. Thus, the classification raises a need to control
the causes and sources which impact the Hillsborough River watershed. They include:
Agriculture
The northern and central portion of the Hillsborough River watershed is rural and comprise of
public conservation lands, agriculture, and pastures. The Hillsborough River watershed that has
been used for agriculture comprises 139,055 acres (the watershed’s 32 percent). The agriculture
activities carried out include poultry, citrus, strawberries, dairy, and others. Agricultural
activities result in presence of pesticides in the water.
Residential
The southern portions are mainly industrial and urban. The built-up and urban zones make the
watershed’s 25 percent. Built-up and urban areas dominate the landscape in the southern portion
of the watershed which includes the City of Tampa which is the largest city in population and
size in the region, Plant City, and Lakeland. The watershed on the upper half has urban and
suburban areas which encompass Wesley, Zephyrhills, Land O’Lakes and Chapel comprises

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108,073 acres or a total area of 25 percent of the watershed (Xian et l., 2007). The presence of
the residential areas leads to the possibility of harmful agents and toxigenic.
Recreational
Hillsborough River water is used for recreation has provided numerous opportunities which
range from hiking, geocaching, fishing, canoeing, camping, tours of the historical reconstruction
of Fort Foster, Class II river rapids (a rarity in Florida) and a half acre swimming pool (when the
weather is favorable). Recreational activities may impact river sources especially through
introduction of pathogens and erosion of sediments.
Estimated pollutant loads
The Hillsborough River watershed is continuously exposed to various pollutants (Khare et al.,
2012). The use of the watershed for domestic purses has led to the accumulation of domestic
residuals (sludge). Moreover, Hillsborough River lower side and the region of the river’s in the
Hillsborough Bay contains toxic contaminations which include pesticides, heavy metals, and
other chemicals which have been detected. The quality of water surface and ground are
threatened by hazardous waste in most sites especially the Tampa Bypass Canal which has the
potential to pollute potential drinking water sources. The watershed is has a potential source for
both nutrients and toxic materials from atmospheric deposition of airborne substance. Thus, there
is a necessity for efficient and continuous monitoring of groundwater quality to perceive
potential problems related to pollution before being extensive.

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Reference:
Khare, Y. P., Martinez, C. J., & Toor, G. S. (2012). Water quality and land use changes in the
Alafia and Hillsborough River watersheds, Florida, USA. JAWRA Journal of the
American Water Resources Association, 48(6), 1276-1293.
Kish, G. R., Stringer, C. E., Stewart, M. T., Rains, M. C., & E Torres, A. (2010). A geochemical
mass-balance method for base-flow separation, upper Hillsborough River watershed,
west-central Florida, 2003-2005 and 2009.
Weber, K. A., & Perry, R. G. (2006). Groundwater abstraction impacts on spring flow and base
flow in the Hillsborough River Basin, Florida, USA. Hydrogeology Journal, 14(7), 1252-
1264.
Xian, G., Crane, M., & Su, J. (2007). An analysis of urban development and its environmental
impact on the Tampa Bay watershed. Journal of environmental management, 85(4), 965-
976.