Hillsborough County commissioners were scheduled to vote Wednesday, July 15, on a $650 million plan to finance water and wastewater upgrades countywide. The money would be repaid entirely through utility system revenues, not the general fund, meaning no direct property tax increase. County officials have not announced a specific rate increase tied to the financing, but utility-revenue-backed debt of this scale could translate to higher customer bills over time.

The vote outcome has not been publicly reported.

If approved, the $650 million would fund upgrades to aging water and sewer lines, expand system capacity to keep pace with population growth, and support a significant investment in the county's One Water Campus in southern Hillsborough County, according to WFLA reporter Jenna Bass, who first reported the scheduled vote. Additional utility improvement projects through the end of the fiscal year are also included.

The One Water Campus is part of a broader $1.6 billion county initiative led by the Water Resources department. Hillsborough County broke ground in May 2026 on the $1.2 billion One Water South Wastewater Conveyance and Treatment Project in Lithia, which includes a new advanced wastewater treatment facility designed to serve the region through at least 2050, a pump station capable of moving 56 million gallons of wastewater per day, and new pipelines.

The One Water Program's named service area covers Apollo Beach, Brandon, Gibsonton, Riverview, Ruskin, Wimauma, Sun City, and Valrico. Lutz isn't in that service area, but residents on county water and sewer could see rate effects from the financing.

Commissioner Christine Miller, who represents District 4, called the May groundbreaking "a monumental day in Hillsborough County" in a post on her official Facebook page on Wednesday, May 21. Miller wrote that she was proud to join fellow commissioners and community partners to kick off the program.