TAMPA, Fla. - With hurricane season underway, Tampa General Hospital is reinforcing its defenses against flooding and storm surge on its Davis Islands campus.
Tampa General flood defenses
The backstory:
The hospital’s AquaFence remains a major part of that strategy. The water-impermeable barrier was first deployed in 2019 and has been used to protect the hospital during several storms, including Hurricane Helene in 2024.
During Helene, TGH says the AquaFence withstood an estimated nine feet of water.
This year, the hospital added infrastructure designed to address a different threat: water getting behind the barrier through the campus’s underground drainage system.
TGH installed 20 storm drains across its main campus, along with significant reinforcements around existing manholes.
The hospital also installed 18 large check valves in its main storm drain lines. The valves function like one-way doors: rainwater can flow out of the campus toward the bay, but storm surge cannot travel backward through the pipes and into the hospital grounds.
Dustin Pasteur, TGH’s senior vice president of facilities and construction, said the valves were installed as close as possible to the AquaFence line.
The hospital also reinforced manholes to prevent rising water pressure from forcing covers off and allowing floodwater onto campus.
Hurricane surge test
What we don't know:
The effectiveness of the new infrastructure has not yet been tested by a direct hit from a major hurricane or storm surge event.
The actual conditions during a future storm will depend on the storm’s track, surge, rainfall and other factors.
AquaFence hurricane preparedness
Timeline:
Over time, Tampa General has worked to harden the wall, strengthening its defenses against water intrusion.
2019: TGH first implements the AquaFence on its Davis Islands campus.
2022: The hospital completes a 16,000-square-foot central energy plant elevated 29 feet above sea level. The plant includes three 20,000-gallon submersible fuel tanks designed to provide full power for up to 96 hours.
2023: TGH adds resin anchors and concrete attachment points to strengthen the AquaFence.
2024: TGH adds a lever-locking system that reduces installation time by approximately 30% and adds UV protection and grip treatment. Hurricane Helene provides the AquaFence with its biggest test to date, with the barrier withstanding an estimated nine feet of water.
2025: TGH continues identifying potential vulnerabilities and improvements after the previous hurricane season.
2026: TGH installs 20 new storm drains, reinforces manholes and adds 18 check valves to major storm drain lines. The hospital also expands AquaFence protection to six additional buildings.
TGH storm defense
Why you should care:
Tampa General’s location on Davis Islands makes flood protection particularly important.
The hospital is a Level I Trauma Center and must remain operational before, during and after a major storm.
The AquaFence is designed to create a barrier between the hospital campus and storm surge. But hospital officials say protecting the campus requires more than simply putting up a wall.
Water can also find its way through underground infrastructure.
That’s why this year’s upgrades focus heavily on drainage and manholes.
The new check valves allow normal rainwater to drain away from the campus. But if water begins moving in the opposite direction because of storm surge, the valves automatically close.
Pasteur compared the system to a flapper. Water moving out pushes the valve open. Water pushing back toward the hospital causes it to close, with greater pressure creating a tighter seal.
TGH says the improvements are part of a year-round process rather than something the hospital begins immediately before hurricane season.
Pasteur said his facilities team keeps a running list of potential improvements and began working on this year’s upgrades as soon as last year’s AquaFence was removed.
Beyond Davis Islands
Local perspective:
The AquaFence strategy is not unique to Tampa General anymore.
The city of St. Petersburg purchased its own AquaFence last year to protect its wastewater treatment facilities from storm surge. The goal is to prevent flooding from forcing the facilities to close and potentially disrupting water service for residents.
The Florida Aquarium also began installing an AquaFence earlier this year to protect its facilities and the roughly 20,000 animals housed there.
Staying ahead of the storm
Dig deeper:
TGH officials say preparedness extends beyond flood protection.
The hospital has established an off-site sterile processing facility outside the flood plain. Sterile processing is responsible for cleaning and sterilizing the instruments used during surgeries, meaning a disruption could affect the hospital’s ability to perform procedures.
The off-site facility is far enough inland to avoid stormwater impacts but close enough to provide emergency support to TGH.
The hospital says it also works with pharmaceutical, dietary and medical supply distributors to strengthen the supply chain before, during and after storms.
When a storm is expected to impact the area, TGH prepositions medications, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies on campus.
The hospital says it can bring in more than 10 semi-loads of supplies, along with large quantities of water, food and other necessities, to support patients and staff through the storm and recovery period.
TGH also has emergency wells capable of providing more than 5,760 gallons of water, stocks up to 25,000 gallons of fuel per day for emergency operations and has a central energy plant designed to provide protected power during an outage.
Hospital employees also participate in emergency management training throughout the year with local, state and regional emergency preparedness partners.
Big picture view:
Tampa General’s Davis Islands campus sits in a location where storm surge and flooding can pose a significant threat to hospital operations.
Keeping the hospital open during a major hurricane isn’t just about protecting a building. It means protecting patients, including some of the most critically ill or injured in the region. In order to do that, TGH must be able to maintain electricity, water, medical supplies, medications, surgical equipment and access to care while much of the surrounding community may be dealing with widespread disruption.
TGH’s latest investments are designed to create multiple layers of protection: the AquaFence keeps surge away from critical buildings, reinforced manholes and one-way valves address vulnerabilities beneath the campus, backup sterile processing protects surgical capacity, and stockpiled supplies help the hospital operate through the storm and its aftermath.
The hospital says those preparations are intended to keep patients and staff safe while allowing TGH to continue providing critical care even when a major hurricane impacts the Tampa Bay region.
The Source: Tampa General Hospital provided information about its 2026 hurricane preparedness efforts, including details about its AquaFence and emergency management planning. The hospital also provided video interviews with Dustin Pasteur, senior vice president of facilities and construction, and Mark Campbell, senior vice president of supply chain.