Tampa leaders talking flood concerns in series of meetings. Here's how you can weigh in

TAMPA, Fla. - The City of Tampa hopes to ease flood concerns, asking for the public's input in a series of meetings.

The backstory:

Earlier this year, the city's latest vulnerability assessment showed that Tampa's biggest flood threat isn't necessarily hurricanes. Rather, it's heavy rain events like the ones we've already seen this month.

Mayor Jane Castor also said the flooding during last year's hurricanes revealed a bigger challenge than many realized: what happens in one spot can quickly spill over into surrounding neighborhoods.

"It wasn’t just stormwater from the city of Tampa," Castor said at a news conference in May. "All of the ponds are connected. And if one location is somehow blocked that it literally can flood neighborhoods."

By the numbers:

According to the city, Tampa's stormwater system includes about 600 miles of pipes, 180 miles of ditches and more than 100 retention and detention ponds – all cleaned regularly with everything from shovels to high-tech gear.

At a recent meeting, the city said teams have already removed more than 500 tons of debris from stormwater systems. Drains and ponds have also been cleaned, wastewater pumps have been raised, and generators have been procured for stormwater pumps.

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Dig deeper:

The city also announced earlier this year that it's investing $94 million in hopes of reducing the risk of flooding in vulnerable areas.

Among other projects, the investment allows the city to upgrade 28 pumping stations. The total number of standby generators is also being increased to 74.

Still, Castor cautioned that there are limits to what any system can handle.

"We have made multi-millions of dollars in improvements in stormwater projects in different areas all over our city, bringing in pumps, generators, but also we want to be realistic with the community that there is no stormwater system in the country or, frankly, in the world that can handle massive amounts of storm water in very short periods of time," Castor said.

What's next:

Officials say the goal of the city's public meetings is not just to update residents, but also to stress that managing flooding is a shared responsibility.

Meetings will cover recent projects like drain cleanouts, new pumps and other upgrades.

The city is hosting meetings at the following locations (all from 6-7:30 p.m.):

Monday, July 7

• Babe Zaharias Golf Course Clubhouse, 11412 N. Forest Hills Dr.

Monday, July 14

• Adams K-8 Magnet School, 4210 W. Bay Villa Ave.

Tuesday, July 15

• TPD RICH House, 3305 N. Avon Ave.

What you can do:

If you notice a stormwater infrastructure maintenance issue near you, or you need a repair service, those can be submitted via the Transportation and Stormwater Services call center at 813-274-3101 or by clicking here.

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