The City of St. Petersburg is now utilizing its new Water Resources Department laboratory. This comes after years of using a building not initially designed for testing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A ribbon cutting was held Dec. 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 11,600-square-foot facility, at 1650 3rd Ave. N., is used to test drinking, waste and beach surface water.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the existing lab aged and the amount of work we did there increased, we realized that we really did need to move it into a building that was designed specifically for that use,\u201d said the city\u2019s public works administrator Claude Tankersley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s Water Resources Department and Environmental Compliance Division collects and analyzes samples seven days a week and performs over 45,000 lab tests per year. Over 130 different types of tests are conducted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLaboratories require very specific environmental conditions,\u201d he added. These include certain temperatures, levels of humanity and the ability to provide clean air to avoid contamination.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The collected data is given to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to verify that the Water Resources Department is meeting all requirements. This collaboration is a part of the lab\u2019s permit, Tankersley explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Staff tests for fecal indicator bacteria, heavy metals, algae and nutrients, among other indicators.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAll this sampling is done is to ensure that the public is protected,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to have confidence that the water is safe for us to use.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The facility not only provides data to the City, but other partners including Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Moving into the approximately $8.5 million building was more of a transitional process, Tankersley explained. The facility is now fully operational and the original lab is no longer in use.\u00a0<\/p>\n