The Southwest Florida Management District recently signed an agreement with Hillsborough County to move forward on a project that will reduce flooding near Lake June.
The Lake June Wetlands Restoration and Wee Lake Outfall Improvements project will improve conveyance and provide additional storage within the watershed by relocating and upgrading existing ditches and culverts, and removing an earthen land bridge built across Lake June for peat mining. Lake June and Wee Lake are upstream of Lake Mango. The two lakes drain through Lake Mango to the Hillsborough River and Tampa Bypass Canal.
Lake Mango, Lake June and Wee Lake are part of the Lake Mango sub-watershed of the Tampa Bypass Canal Watershed, which is part of the larger Hillsborough River Basin. The Tampa Bypass Canal Watershed Management Plan, which was completed in 2001, identifies the Lake Mango sub-watershed as having a high level of pollutants in the water. This project will also restore the littoral shelf of Lake June, remove invasive plants and replace them with native wetland plants, which will improve water quality in the sub-watershed.
The project is estimated to cost up to $500,000. Funding will be divided evenly between the District and Hillsborough County. District funding is through the Hillsborough River Basin Board and the state’s Water Protection and Sustainability Program.
The project is expected to be complete by July 2010.