Tampa Bay Water pays $21M in suit

CLEARWATER —Tampa Bay Water's board has agreed to pay to end the lawsuit surrounding its C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir. The eight-member board of directors unanimously voted to pay HDR Engineering's legal fees and costs, totaling about $21 million, and to end the litigation against HDR Engineering over the failed soil-cement liner in the reservoir.

The fees include costs for the trial, post-trial proceedings and the appeal, and will be paid through funds on hand. The water board does not expect the settlement to directly affect water rates.

In one of the largest engineering professional liability cases ever in the country, Tampa Bay Water initially sued Omaha, Neb.-based HDR Engineering for $225 million over cracks in the water reservoir. That was reduced to $73 million when the case went to trial, but the jury ultimately found HDR was not liable for the damage.