Harbour Island residents want answers on proposed sewer line

For seven decades, a pipe taller than your average fifth-grader has carried Tampa sewage from downtown to Harbour Island, snaking near upscale townhouses and behind multi-million dollar homes before burrowing under Sparkman Channel to the city’s sewage plant.

Workers laid that pipe in 1951 when Harbour Island was home to nothing but garbage and rats. Now that it’s nearing the end of its useful life, the question becomes: Where is a new pipe going to go?

City officials haven’t decided yet, but Harbour Island residents are worried their recreational trails, commutes and possibly even their back yards are about to be torn up.