A restoration project cooperatively funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will improve water quality and restore wetlands habitat in the Carrollwood area of Hillsborough County.
The North Dale Mabry Highway Stormwater Retrofit and Wetland Restoration Project will restore nearly 11 acres of FDOT-owned property along Waters Avenue, near Sweetwater Creek in Hillsborough County. Nuisance and invasive species have taken over much of the land. An existing ditch system and a large culvert discharges water from the site into Channel H, a tributary to Sweetwater Creek. This system has significantly diverted water away from the wetland for 20 years.
The goals of the project are to remove nuisance, invasive vegetation; restore historic water levels to the wetland area; and provide water quality treatment for stormwater from a highly urbanized 80-acre watershed. Additional benefits include flood plain creation and restoration of natural systems.
The Florida Legislature established the Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Act in 1987, requiring the five water management districts to maintain a priority list of water bodies of regional or statewide significance. The districts develop plans and programs for the improvement of these water bodies. The District’s SWIM Program has designated Tampa Bay as its top priority.
This project is consistent with the District’s SWIM plan for Tampa Bay because Sweetwater Creek is a tributary to Tampa Bay. The project is also consistent with the Tampa Bay Estuary Programs efforts to reduce nitrogen loading to Tampa Bay.
The District is the lead agency for this project and will be responsible for hiring an engineering consultant to design and obtain environmental resource permits and for hiring a construction contractor for the project. The FDOT will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the completed project.
The cost of the project is expected to be approximately $900,000. The District and the FDOT will each provide half the funding for the project. District funding will be divided among the District’s Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board and the SWIM program.