Tampa officials are speeding up construction of one of the largest stormwater ponds in the city as flooding continues to affect residents.
The Mobility Department focuses on improving infrastructure and chose what is known as the MacDill 48 park for the project. The 48-acre park, which the city purchased in 2002, is off MacDill Avenue just south of Interbay Boulevard in the Interbay area.
The pond will hold around 25 million gallons of water ─ enough for 1,650 swimming pools ─ and will be surrounded by a nature trail.
City officials say the plan combines several approaches to solve the flooding problems in the area.
“Concrete-based solutions alone are not going to get us there,” Mobility Department director Vik Bhide said.
“We also need green infrastructure and generally create sponge-like surfaces, or sponge-like cities, so that we absorb rainwater more as part of our flood management solutions.”
By combining structures and the environment, Bhide said the park will not only be useful for floods, but mindful of Florida wildlife, like relocated gopher tortoises.
Recent storms have dumped more than 3 inches of rain in just one hour on parts of South Tampa.
These intense storms have become much more common — city officials say that these kinds of storms previously only happened every 10 years.
Bhide said the MacDill 48 pond is being built with the conditions expected in the year 2050 in mind.
Bhide added that the city is also working to address flooding in the nearby Bayshore Boulevard area.
“We are trying to leverage available federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and part of that is planning on what the future of Bayshore can be,” said Bhide. “What the future of the low-lying areas like the onramp to Davis Islands can be and what modifications we need to make in the context [of] today and in the future.”
The MacDill 48 project should be complete by next spring.
