Speaking

The City of Tarpon Springs encompasses approximately 8.5 square miles with a stormwater program staff of nine to serve the needs of approximately 25,176 residents. Increased urbanization and infill development throughout the years has overtaxed the City’s aging stormwater infrastructure and resulted in numerous flooding problems. As a coastal community, the City also has unique topography ranging from 2 feet to 56 feet (NAVD), resulting in numerous closed basins with no stormwater infrastructure.

To achieve the City’s stormwater and water quality improvement goals, they created their Stormwater Action Plan (SAP) which resulted in a prioritized stormwater capital improvement plan for implementation and water quality improvements. The SAP is a “living document”, with biannual updates to capture additional problem areas and updating costs to assist with programming adequate funding.

The City’s SAP has been a tremendous success. Since its inception, they have completed 32 capital improvement projects totaling in $5.5 million in construction. The documentation developed for the flooding locations has been used to support four approved Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) Cooperative Funding Initiative Program Grants totaling in $2 million in grant funding to offset design and construction costs. It has also been used to secure $1.8 million in grant funding through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In 2021, the City’s Stormwater Program was awarded the Florida Stormwater Association’s Outstanding Achievement Award.

Join B&N’s Bryan Anderson and Anthony Mannello, Streets and Stormwater Supervisor for the City of Tarpon Springs, to learn more about this award-winning project.