A cooperative project between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will treat stormwater runoff in the Hillsborough River State Park.
Located in Hillsborough County, the well-known park was built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corp. The park opened in 1938 and was one of Florida’s first state parks.
The goal of this multi-phased project is to treat stormwater runoff from several parking lots before it reaches the Hillsborough River and to reduce localized flooding of select park facilities.
The parking lots were constructed in the 1960s before existing stormwater regulations. In addition, some of the drainage ditches in the park were built during the early 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration public works activities and direct untreated runoff flows from the paved parking areas into the Hillsborough River.
The project’s first phase, which was completed in March 2006, evaluated the drainage patterns and surface runoff, and developed a general plan to address stormwater treatment for several parking lots and some of the drainage issues.
The second phase includes the design, permitting and construction of the selected stormwater treatment systems and the drainage improvements. The stormwater treatments under preliminary design include grassy swales to collect and treat stormwater runoff and the replacement of impervious parking surfaces with areas of turf block. Drainage improvements include the installation of culverts at the proper ground elevations to maintain flows but prevent over draining nearby wetlands. The culverts will direct flows away from flooded park facilities.
Construction is expected to begin in the late spring or early summer of 2009 and be complete by September 2010.
The project is estimated to cost $1.18 million, which is being funded by the District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board, the Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) program and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).