06/16/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/16/2025 06:13
As the summer season ramps up, the City of Tampa is announcing a multi-departmental effort to make drinking water more accessible in heat-vulnerable areas. As part of this partnership, City of Tampa crews will be installing a drinking fountain along North 22nd Street and Emma Street in the heart of East Tampa.
Public hydration stations are essential to helping keep communities safe during extreme heat by giving people access to free drinking water 24/7; reducing their risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
Extreme heat is a concern for the City of Tampa. Since 2022, Tampa has experienced more than 90 days per year with a heat index of over 100°F. Tampa's Heat Resilience Playbook shows that East Tampa is especially vulnerable to the heat. In this area older homes tend to have challenges with poor insulation and cooling efficiency, residents live farther from green spaces, and it's bordered by two elevated interstates, which contribute to higher temperatures.
The drinking water fountain will not only increase access to water in East Tampa, but it also supports the Sustainability & Resilience Department's Cool Corridor Program, which is working to reduce extreme heat exposure for people who walk, bike, and live along North 22nd Street. The drinking fountain will be located along this corridor, which has several stops on a busy HART bus route, two public schools, health clinics, and two community gardens.
"The City of Tampa is taking the threat of extreme heat seriously," said Mayor Jane Castor. "We are consistently looking for opportunities to enhance our community's resilience to extreme weather and improve our residents' everyday lives."
This drinking fountain is not only beneficial to the community, but it was installed for a significantly reduced cost. Resilient Cities Catalyst, a nonprofit that works with cities around the world to accelerate resilient solutions, donated funding to the City of Tampa to purchase this fountain. In addition, the installation of the drinking fountain will be done by the Tampa Water Department's in-house construction crew. This team is able to perform the installation of this drinking fountain, and future drinking fountains, for about 35% less than what an external contractor would typically charge.
This work is a collaboration between the Water Department, the Sustainability & Resilience Department as well as the Parks And Recreation Department. The departments will continue to work together to install more drinking fountains in high-traffic, heat-vulnerable areas.