City of Mulberry seeks $40M grant to protect against wastewater plant flooding

Mulberry applies for hurricane protection grant

The city of Mulberry is applying for a multi-million-dollar grant that would mitigate the risk of flooding at its wastewater plant and prevent a potential environmental disaster. FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.

MULBERRY, Fla. - The city of Mulberry is applying for a multi-million-dollar grant that would mitigate the risk of flooding at its wastewater plant and prevent a potential environmental disaster.

"When it backs up to the west, it'll start coming onto the property," said John Wright, the city's Utility Director.

What we know:

During a hurricane or heavy rain event, water from the north converges on both sides of the wastewater plant in Mulberry and dumps into the Alafia River.

Normally, the river is about 30 feet wide, but during a hurricane, it can expand to 300 feet wide.

"Every hurricane, we're out there at 2, 3, or 4 in the morning, scrambling to keep these waters from the Alafia away from the wastewater plant," said city manager Rick Johnson.

To avoid major flood issues and an environmental disaster, the city applied for a $40,400,000 hurricane protection grant that recently became available and is funded 100% by the state.

With the funds, the city would be able to dig a trench and build a berm around the plant, which could also alleviate flooding in nearby neighborhoods.

They'll also be able to improve communication between their two plants.

"Part of this grant includes a component that allows our water plants to communicate with one another through a system, even if we lose communication. There's a fiber optic communication," said Johnson.

RELATED: $80M approved for another Tampa wastewater infrastructure project

If the city receives the grant, the trench and berm would take years to construct.

"It'll keep the water on that side of the wastewater plant," said Wright. "It won't come over onto the operations side, so we won't have to worry about it interrupting operations."

The city hopes to hear back about the grant in November.

What we don't know:

It's unclear whether the city will receive the full grant or a partial grant. If they receive only a partial grant, they would have to forgo the improved fiber optic communication.

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