St. Pete Standard

'Resilient Florida' grants will fund infrastructure projects 

The City of St. Petersburg was recently notified of the intent to be awarded $20,445,000 from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection.

"We have an intentional focus on partnerships and seeking grant opportunities. These Resilient Florida Program funds will enable the City to make necessary infrastructure improvements that will mitigate flooding and increase utility service reliability," said St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. "Investing in improvements that upgrade aging infrastructure is a top priority for my administration. These types of opportunities help to strengthen St. Pete's framework and systems."

Approximately $11,575,000 will be used to mitigate stormwater flooding at Lake Maggiore in the Salt Creek basin.

• Basin C Resiliency Salt Creek Conveyance Improvements - $900,000
• Basin C Resiliency Salt Creek Outfall Pump Station - $10,675,000

Approximately $8,870,000 will be used to replace maintenance buildings at the Southwest Water Reclamation Facility and the Northeast Water Reclamation Facility in order to increase service reliability and safety during extreme weather events like hurricanes.

• Southwest Operations and Maintenance Buildings Replacement Project - $4,760,000
• Northeast Operations and Maintenance Buildings Replacement Project - $4,110,000

The infrastructure projects utilizing these funds align with St. Pete’s Water Plan, which is a holistic 20-year plan to address St. Pete’s aging water infrastructure, and Mayor Welch’s Pillar for Progress: Environment, Infrastructure & Resilience.

About St. Pete's Water Plan

St. Pete’s Water Plan is a holistic 20-year plan to address the city’s aging infrastructure for potable water, reclaimed water, wastewater, stormwater, and natural bodies of water. Since 2015, the City has invested more than $280 million to repair aging infrastructure and increase resiliency for the future. St. Pete’s Water Plan will invest approximately $3.5 billion to continue the work to improve the infrastructure. More at www.stpete.org/WaterPlan. 

About Mayor Welch's Pillar For Progress: Environment, Infrastructure & Resilience

Embracing innovation to help solve challenges to our environment is a guiding principle of the Welch Administration. With St. Pete on a bullseye for sea level rise that will impact every resident of our city, our priorities are protecting and preserving our environment; upgrading aging infrastructure; and ensuring resiliency to rising seas and hotter temperatures through shoreline restoration and alternative energy; investing in environmental technology; and creating codes and regulations that protect the fragile eco-balance in Tampa Bay. More at www.stpete.org/vision. 

Original source can be found here.