The third phase of a water quality improvement project that will collect and treat stormwater runoff prior to discharging into the Intracoastal Waterway is about to begin.
The project is cooperatively funded between the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board and the Town of Indian Shores.
The first two phases involved the construction of 12 improvement areas, or treatment systems. These treatment systems are a combination of dry retention ponds and flow-through treatment systems, which allow storm water to pass through while the solids and heavier pollutants settle to the bottom. The city’s public works department collects the settled pollutants and properly disposes of them.
The third phase will involve constructing flow-through treatment systems at four sites.
This project is part of the city’s watershed management plan, a previous cooperative funding project between the District and the city, which identified about two dozen locations for water quality improvements.
The total cost of the third phase of the project is expected to be $300,000, which will be divided evenly between the town and the Basin Board.
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.