Tampa bringing in temporary backup generators for stormwater pumping stations ahead of future storms
Tampa highlights pump station backup generators
The City of Tampa is bolstering its flooding defenses by improving its stormwater drainage system. After last year's unprecedented flooding following back-to back hurricanes the city has secured several temporary backup generators to power stormwater pumping stations. Kylie Jones reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - The City of Tampa is implementing more tools to strengthen its stormwater pumping stations.
The city announced that it's bringing in temporary generators that will be installed at eight of the city's 13 stormwater pumping stations.
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What they're saying:
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said Hurricane Milton dumped 14 to 18 inches of rain in a short period of time.
"Which caused flooding like I've never seen," Castor said.
The backstory:
During the hurricane, there were generator failures at stormwater pumping stations around the city, which exacerbated flooding in some areas.
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There were also only generators at a few of the stormwater pumping stations.
Neighborhoods in North Tampa like Forest Hills and the University area, which don't typically flood, were hit with devastating flooding.
Big picture view:
On Tuesday, city leaders said they're renting eight temporary generators that will be installed ahead of a storm.
The backup generators will be put at the 45th Street Station, Closed Basin Station, Eastridge Station, El Portal Station, Lake Eckles, Penalty Lake Station, Poinsettia Pump Station and Robles Park Station.
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"The intent is to deploy those in the advance of a storm, a hurricane hitting, and to get those pump stations powered by generator power proactively and manually," Tampa's Interim Mobility Director Brandon Campbell said.
City leaders said the generators will be able to run for about 24 hours before needing to be refueled.
Campbell said they've also created a Pump Station Rapid Response Team.
"Our Pump Station Response Team is a newly formed team that we will have located in the Forest Hills Emergency Response Center, so that when these generators are deployed, we have quick access to refueling and to maintenance and to making sure that those are running properly," Campbell said.
The other side:
Although, Castor said the generators won't prevent flooding entirely during an extreme rain event.
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"Stormwater systems are built for a certain capacity," Castor said. "We get enough rain in a short enough period of time, we are going to see flooding. There is no stormwater system in the world that could have prevented the flooding that we saw in Milton."
However, city leaders hope the generators will add another layer of protection and help prevent flooding from reaching catastrophic levels.
"Can we do better in situations, and some of the homes may not flood? Yes," Castor said. "But if we see those circumstances again, there isn't a system that can handle that much water in that short of a time."
The stormwater pumping stations are different from the city's wastewater pumping stations.
What's next:
The city has a long-term plan to install permanent generators at each of the city's pump stations.
The $11 million project is expected to happen over the next two years.
You can find information about the city's stormwater infrastructure, projects and residential resources here.