City of Tampa Response to the SoHo Business Alliance’s Alternate Route
City of Tampa’s Response to the SoHo Business Alliance’s Alternate Route
The City has spent 18 months studying nearly two dozen alternatives. The design team engineers have invested countless hours in identifying the best solution to address flooding in Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines.
When this new proposal was presented last week, even at this late stage in the process, we asked our design team to evaluate it immediately.
The engineering review is clear: this alternative does not remove enough stormwater to meet the project’s flood-relief goals. It would also require a longer route, a larger construction footprint, and cost more.
We have a responsibility to recommend a solution that we know will work. After extensive study and engineering, we have found only one solution that can remove the volume of water that we’re dealing with.
Here are the City’s concerns with this alternate route.
- Does not achieve the project’s flood-relief goals: The proposed storage vaults do not have enough capacity to manage the volume of stormwater generated during a 5-year/8-hour storm without significant additional upgrades to the existing drainage system. As proposed, significant roadway flooding would remain.
- Longer route means more construction: The alternative route is approximately 35% longer than the South Howard route, increasing both construction costs and the time needed to complete the project.
- Would significantly impact the existing tree canopy: Construction along the alternative route could require removal of a significant number of Grand Oaks and other mature trees, changing the character of affected neighborhoods.
- Could increase flooding in Palma Ceia without additional improvements: Unless the existing drainage system is upgraded all the way to Hillsborough Bay, the alternative could increase flooding in the Palma Ceia neighborhood.
- Could require acquisition of private homes or property: Upgrading the drainage system beneath the CSX railroad and Selmon Expressway could require acquisition of one or more homes or properties adjacent to the railroad in Palma Ceia.
- Eliminates existing stormwater treatment: The AMI pond currently provides permitted water-quality treatment for approximately 60 acres of the watershed. Construction of the proposed vault would eliminate that treatment, with no replacement identified in the alternative plan.
- Relies on pumps rather than gravity: The proposed vaults would depend on pumps to move stored water out of the system. Unlike a gravity-based system, pumps introduce the risk of mechanical failure during severe storms and hurricanes and require ongoing operations and maintenance. These large pumps and backup generators would need to be housed in a permanent structure not shown in the proposed plan, creating a large, highly visible structure with significant noise and potential disruption to the surrounding neighborhood.
- Creates significant railroad construction challenges: CSX has a strict right-of-way (R/W) policy that prevents construction within its R/W or near the railroad. This route appears to have 800 linear feet of the existing system that will need to be upgraded that lies within CSX R/W and very close to the railroad.
- Crosses private property: The proposed connection between the AMI pond and Parkland Estates crosses a privately owned parking lot and other private property.
- Would require reconstruction of the AMI parking deck: Installing the proposed underground vaults would require demolition and reconstruction of the 2+ acre privately owned AMI parking deck, necessitating HCA approval, temporary parking loss, and additional reconstruction costs.
- Requires a massive underground storage vault: The alternative calls for storing approximately 15 million gallons of stormwater underground, which would require extensive excavation and a large, complex, and costly structure.
