Charles Carden, General Manager, Tampa Bay Water

August 2026 —Invest: sat down with Charles Carden, general manager of Tampa Bay Water, to discuss how the agency is planning for growth, adapting to climate variability, and balancing affordability, reliability, and environmental stewardship across one of the country’s fastest-growing regions. “Everything we do is guided by three core tenets: environmental stewardship, affordability, and reliability” Carden said.

What key changes over the past year have had the biggest impact on Tampa Bay Water?

Two forces stand out. The first is the weather. Historically, this region has been fairly predictable in terms of storm patterns and rainfall, but that is changing. We are seeing conditions that do not align with what utilities could once count on with confidence. Right now, for example, we are in an extreme drought, and that creates operational challenges across the entire system.

The second is growth. Tampa Bay remains one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and demand for water continues to rise along with that growth. For us, the challenge is not only meeting current needs but making sure we are positioned well enough in advance to meet future demand without falling into a reactive mode. Climate variability and population growth are shaping almost every major decision we make.

How is Tampa Bay Water strengthening the resilience of its system to address those pressures?

A big part of our resilience comes from diversification. Many utilities rely on a single source of water, whether that is groundwater or surface water. We made the decision years ago to build a diversified portfolio, and that has proven extremely valuable. We have groundwater, surface water, and desalination, which gives us the ability to shift among sources depending on conditions.

That flexibility matters even more during drought. In a normal year, we can more or less predict when to rely on different sources and plan accordingly. Now, we are having to shuffle more than we used to, but the important thing is that we can shuffle because we have options. We also have a 15.5 billion-gallon reservoir that acts as our water savings account and stores water for the dry season. In a year like this, when dry conditions extend much longer than expected, we rely on our water savings to help us until the rainy season.

Our planning process is just as important as our diversified sources. We operate on a master water planning cycle with a 20-year horizon. We formally update the plan every five years, and we review demand and growth projections every year. We evaluate a wide range of possible supply projects, narrow them through feasibility work, and then move forward with the projects our board selects. That process has already led to major investments, including a  26-mile pipeline and an expansion of our surface water treatment plant, and soon a new groundwater source. We are studying future options, such as more surface water treatment capacity, desalination expansion, and the role reclaimed water could play, including indirect potable reuse.

How do you approach long-term planning in a region where growth patterns and external conditions can shift quickly?

The key is to stay ahead without getting too far ahead. Water infrastructure takes time, capital, and discipline, so you cannot wait until demand has already outpaced supply. You also do not want to overbuild based on assumptions that may not materialize.

We have seen how quickly conditions can change. If you think back to the 2008-2009 period, demand dropped sharply as the economy slowed. Utilities that had been planning for uninterrupted growth suddenly had to adjust. That experience reinforced an important lesson for us: flexibility matters. No one out here has a crystal ball. We just use good judgment, and we’re very fast and nimble on our feet to make a change.

That is really the mindset. We have to be proactive, but we also have to be ready to pivot if the region’s growth or broader economic conditions move in a different direction than anticipated.

What does workforce development look like at Tampa Bay Water, especially in technical and engineering roles?

We are intentionally a lean organization. We have about 165 full-time employees, which surprises a lot of people given that we supply drinking water for more than 2.6 million people. That structure is deliberate. We maintain a focused internal team and supplement it with outsourced technical talent when needed, depending on where we are in a project cycle.

Right now, because we are in a building phase, we have expanded our engineering and project management capabilities. Those are distinct skill sets, and both are important. Engineers and project managers do different jobs, and making sure those teams work together effectively is part of what we are focused on.

We also depend on operators, maintenance technicians, scientists, hydrologists, instrumentation and controls specialists, accountants, and many others. Water systems are highly technical and rely on automation, controls, and specialized knowledge. One challenge we have seen is that fewer people are entering some of those operational and technical fields.

To address that, we revived our operator trainee program. It allows us to bring in people who may not already be licensed operators but have the aptitude to learn. They train for a year alongside licensed operators, build the required hours, and then sit for their certification exam. We have had success with that model. We are also working with AmSkills on an apprenticeship pathway for instrumentation and controls roles. That program combines classroom instruction with hands-on work in our system and could become an important pipeline for future talent.

How do you engage with communities and stakeholders around conservation and public education?

Public outreach, communication, and transparency are a core part of this agency’s DNA. We do a great deal of education because it is important that people understand where their water comes from, how it is produced, and what role they can play in protecting it.

That is especially important when we are building infrastructure. Whether you are constructing a pipeline or another major asset, there is going to be disruption. You cannot pretend otherwise. What you can do is communicate early, be present in the community, hold public meetings, explain what is happening, and then follow through on what you said you would do. That matters to us.

On conservation, we work closely with our six member governments, which include the three counties and the three major cities we serve. Our responsibility is to provide the water they need, but conservation is still essential. Through our Tampa Bay Water Wise program, we offer rebates for efficient appliances and other improvements that help residents reduce water use. Our goal is to save 3.8 million gallons of water a day by 2030, and we have already made meaningful progress. Every gallon conserved helps defer the need for additional infrastructure. That is a practical benefit as much as an environmental one.

During two of the last three years, the Tampa Bay region has experienced extreme drought conditions. Ideally, water conservation should not just be something people think about during an emergency. It should be part of everyday behavior. Water is a precious commodity, and that reality is only becoming more important.

As you look to 2030, what are your main priorities for Tampa Bay Water?

Our near-term priority is to stay ready for the next cycle of projects while delivering on those that are already underway. That means continuing to expand supply thoughtfully, maintaining flexibility, and making sure our planning stays aligned with real-world conditions.

Everything we do is guided by three core tenets: environmental stewardship, affordability, and reliability. Those are not slogans. They are the framework for our decisions. We want to ensure the water supply is sustainable, that it remains affordable for the people and communities we serve, and that it is reliable even as drought, growth, and other pressures evolve.

Those three priorities are always in balance. You could make choices that maximize one at the expense of the others, but that is not the goal. Our job is to keep all three in play at the same time, and that balancing act is what defines the work ahead for Tampa Bay Water.