TAMPA, Fla. — The city of Tampa is moving forward with a $17 million project to renovate one of the city’s busiest and oldest pump stations.
It comes on the heels of recent storms that led to wastewater overflow in nearby neighborhoods, creating an environmental nightmare in neighborhoods and the bay alike.
The pumping station is off of Bayshore Boulevard. Right now, all of its electrical equipment is underground, which was common practice when it was built roughly 70 years ago in 1955. Now, the city plans to raise it nine feet above ground level to strengthen it against major storms and bring it into this century.
Eric Weiss, director of Tampa Wastewater, said, "To me, this is a 1950s car and we're going to get a 2025 car that has a lot of bells and whistles."
The pump station manages roughly 3 million gallons of wastewater daily for the homes and businesses east of Dale Mabry, south of Bay to Bay, and north of Interbay. During severe storms, Director Weiss said the demand on the station can double to roughly 6 million gallons daily.
Now, the city is using funds from its $3 billion PIPES program to raise the pump station, add two more pumps and upgrade its generator.
Mayor Jane Castor said the goal is to strengthen it against future storms.
"The entire station is going to be raised up nine feet so it will be able to withstand any tidal surges and flooding that we may experience in the future," Castor said. The station will also be surrounded by a concrete wall specifically built to stand up against hurricane-force winds.
It is welcome news for the "Bayshore Beautiful" neighborhood, where on Coachman Avenue, wastewater overflow has become routine in recent months.
Megan Eakins, who has lived on the street for years, said the impact of wastewater overflow is pungent and unsettling.
"It's like a fountain," Eakins said. "It's hard for our kids and pets to hang out and play outside. Sometimes we have to bathe our pets before they come inside. Particularly after the hurricanes we were doing that."
Eakins, who also serves as board chair of Tampa Bay Waterkeepers, a non-profit protecting the Bay, said the investment in the new pumping station is crucial not only for the health of her neighborhood but for our Tampa Bay waters as well.
"It's hard it see it flow directly into the bay," Eakins said. "We already have so many nutrient issues we're trying to tackle."
According to the city of Tampa, the project is expected to be completed by Fall 2025.