Tampa stormwater officials update City Council on hurricane preps

City of Tampa preparing for hurricane season

FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia reports.

TAMPA - City of Tampa stormwater officials updated the City Council on hurricane preparations Thursday.

The backstory:

In a two-and-a-half-hour discussion, Tampa mobility director Vik Bhide walked council members through pictures, stats, and graphs to highlight past, present, and future work by stormwater crews.

According to April 2025 data, teams have cleaned nearly 38,000 feet of city pipes, completed monthly inspections of all pump stations, and removed over 500 tons of debris from city ditches.

"We’ll be ready for storm season," Bhide said. "And we will have addressed the majority of the issues from the previous storms."

But some residents pushed back at Thursday’s city council meeting. During public comment, several speakers showed pictures of neighborhood ditches and ponds that they argued had not been addressed.

What they're saying:

"We are not ready for this rainy and hurricane season," one resident said. "Nothing is getting done because of lack of manpower, equipment, and proper management. Residents are concerned and frustrated. I know I am."

To some extent, the stormwater department agreed with these comments. Bhide showed city council a list of the city’s current equipment, adding that they’re working on a business plan to identify additional needs.

"We need more people. We need more equipment. We need more contracts. We need more resources," Bhide said.

MORE: NOAA releases hurricane forecast for 2025 Atlantic season

The city did hire consultants to study Tampa’s drainage basins. During their presentation to council on Thursday, they said they’re in the process of creating an online dashboard and notifying residents about this study. Once that online dashboard is complete – which should be early summer, they said – residents will be able to upload photos and documentation of flooding.

Council member Bill Carlson also requested the consultants consider new development in their research.

"One piece of feedback we heard from the community is, they believe that new developments have caused water to flow in different ways. Is there a way that you can measure whether that’s true or not?" Carlson said.

Dig deeper:

Meanwhile, the stormwater department identified several neighborhoods, including University Square and Palma Ceia Pines, that maintenance crews focused on as of April. But city council pushed for more specifics moving forward.

"People want to know what type of work is being done in each space and that is where I think there’s been a little bit of disconnect," councilmember Lynn Hurtak said.

The official start to hurricane season is less than two weeks away on June 1.

"Jackson Heights is holding its breath for the next storm to see how well all the repairs hold up," another resident said. "But we are appreciative for what was done in our area."

The Source: FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia gathered the information for this story.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: