In 2016, the City of Tampa approved a Stormwater Improvement Assessment which established funding for much needed capital improvement projects aimed at alleviating flooding within the City’s stormwater improvement area. The Lower Peninsula Stormwater Improvements Southeast Regional System Design-Build Project is the first of several the City is planning in the Lower Peninsula area. It includes two of eight projects that have been identified in the City’s recently completed Lower Peninsula Watershed Management Plan.
The project consists of design and construction of a major stormwater conveyance system that includes more than 8,000 linear feet of box culvert and pipes, as well as drainage inlets. An aesthetically pleasing pond will be developed to provide water quality treatment prior to stormwater being discharged through a new outfall to Hillsborough Bay. State-of-the-art green infrastructure solutions will also be incorporated to reduce pollutant loading and the concentration of polluting materials into Hillsborough Bay.
The project will include restoration of diverse environmental habitat within the MacDill 48 Park, together with the development of a passive park with nature/bike trails. The aesthetically pleasing pond will be strategically placed in the central lower lands within the MacDill 48 Park property to enhance habitat diversity and provide needed water quality improvements. The City is taking extreme care in its enhancements of the property and is working with environmental specialists, the Florida Communities Trust (FCT), Hillsborough County’s Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP) General Committee and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) to ensure the design preserves the Park’s diverse habitat and saves as many trees as possible.
The use of MacDill 48 Park will allow the City to maximize flooding relief and enhance water quality within the Lower Peninsula Southeast Watershed. It will also fulfill a required element of the City’s agreement with FCT to rehydrate the wetlands, restore onsite habitat and provide a high-level of water quality treatment to improve the quality of stormwater entering Hillsborough Bay.
Yes, ELAPP’s General Committee supports the City’s plan for the MacDill 48 Park. Please click here to review the letter of support.
The Lower Peninsula Stormwater Improvements Southeast Regional System Design-Build project is part of the City of Tampa’s Stormwater Improvement Program that will:
The basin that is improved with this project is generally located south of Gandy Boulevard to MacDill Air Force Base, from Dale Mabry Highway to Bayshore Boulevard. Exact flooding improvement locations are currently being identified and hydraulically modeled.
The route for this major storm water conveyance system will be contained within the Lower Peninsula Watershed. The project team is currently working on the design of the system, and once a permanent route has been determined, it will be shared with the community and stakeholders within the project area.
The overall project will take approximately 30 months to complete.
The exiting ditches along the right-of-way within the Lower Peninsula Watershed provide very limited water quality benefits for stormwater run-off from the roadway and adjacent residential areas. The ditches are dispersed and much of the water from developed areas is not captured in the ditches. Water quality improvements will be greatly improved by the proposed environmentally sensitive pond on the MacDill 48 property, as well as through other green infrastructure improvements planned for this project.
The City of Tampa debuted MacDill 48 Park on November 12, 2024. The park is now open to the public.
In 2016, the Tampa City Council approved a Stormwater Improvement Assessment that provided funding for the Lower Peninsula Stormwater Improvements Southeast Regional System Design-Build project, as well as other stormwater improvement projects throughout the City. Additionally, grant funding is being sought from the SWFWMD, which could offset investments by the City and utility ratepayers.
The Lower Peninsula Stormwater Improvements Southeast Regional System Design-Build project is one of many projects the City of Tampa will be implementing during the next several years to provide improvements to its stormwater infrastructure.
During the early design stage of the project, members of the project team will meet with residents, businesses, and schools one-on-one in either an in-person or virtual environment. The purpose of those meetings is to provide overall project plans and preliminary schedule, as well as gather input to understand community concerns. In addition to the one-on-one meetings, the project team will meet with affected neighborhood associations, school officials and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), and host in-person or virtual public meetings throughout the course of the project. Additional details about the project, including upcoming meeting dates, can be found on the project website at LPstormwater.com or by calling the project hotline at (813) 642-3595.
The City owns the property, which was acquired from Hillsborough County through their ELAPP program in 2004. Because the property was purchased in part with a grant from the Florida Communities Trust (FTC), a state agency, the City maintains jurisdiction over all plans for the improvements within and general management of the property. Please click here for a copy of the deed.
As part of this project, the City is committed to restoring and preserving the natural environment to MacDill 48 Park to improve habitat for wildlife and reduce the hazard of brush fires. In addition, the proposed aesthetically pleasing pond within the park will provide water quality enhancements that will help reduce pollutant loading into Hillsborough Bay. The current design layout preserves 70 percent of the high-quality habitat onsite.
The pipe system that previously existed at MacDill 48 Park was only used for stormwater conveyance and was approaching 100 years old. It was replaced for the following reasons:
The total cost of the project is $51 million. Funding is being provided by the City of Tampa, along with $25 million from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Resilient Florida Program and $12.5 million from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).
If you would like more information on the Lower Peninsula Stormwater Improvements Southeast Regional System Design-Build project or you would like to set up a meeting with the project team, please call our project hotline at (813) 642-3595.
As the project progresses through the design phase, we will be hosting a public meeting for residents and businesses to learn more about the project, any potential impacts, and the construction schedule. We will notify stakeholders prior to the date of the meeting.
Our project website (LPstormwater.com) will also be up-to-date with the most recent information throughout the entire duration of the project.
The specific impacts to residents, businesses and schools will be identified during the design phase. The project team will be hosting one-on-one meetings with all property owners adjacent to the project corridor during the design phase to understand and address specific concerns. In addition, in-person or virtual group meetings and public meetings will be held before construction begins. Every effort will be made to minimize impacts.
While this project is being constructed to reduce flooding and improve water quality, the City mandates through binding agreements with the design-build team that they are properly insured based on industry standards for this type of work. As part of the preconstruction activities, the design-build team will assess each adjacent property along the project route. If any damages occur because of construction or operation of this project, the City would be involved in investigating and resolving any damages.
There are currently four entrances to the MacDIll 48 Park: