The Southwest Florida Management District and the City of Belleair Bluffs are working together on a project that will improve stormwater drainage within the Belleair Bluffs watershed.
The project will also upgrade the stormwater system by adding storm piping and constructing roadway curbs and curb inlets to control stormwater runoff.
It also involves installing a Continuous Deflective Separation (CDS) unit to remove sediments and pollutants, which will improve the water quality being discharged from the stormwater system and into Clearwater Harbor.
These infrastructure improvements will be built near Mehlenbacher Road.
The city is responsible for all phases of the project’s design, permitting and construction, as well as hiring consultants and contractors.
The project is estimated to cost up to $700,000. Funding will be divided evenly between the District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board and Belleair Bluffs.
The project is expected to be complete by June 30, 2010.
Storm water is water that flows over land during and immediately after a rainstorm. The Environmental Protection Agency has identified stormwater runoff as Florida’s most serious water quality problem today. Pollutants associated with stormwater runoff include sediment, nutrients, heavy metals, oils, greases, pesticides and bacteria. Without proper treatment in developed areas, these pollutants adversely impact the quality of the receiving water.