The Lower St. Johns River will run cleaner now that a storm water retrofitting project is complete at the city of Atlantic Beach, Fla.
"The Hopkins Creek Project was originally proposed after storms repeatedly flooded residences and streets," said Atlantic Beach Mayor John Meserve. The 1.7-acre Hopkins Creek Regional Retention Pond will treat the runoff from more than 54 acres of developed residential and commercial lands and also provide additional flood protection.
In May 2008, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) awarded a $550,000-water quality restoration grant to the city of Atlantic Beach for the construction of the project under the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Water Quality Restoration Grant Program established by the Florida Legislature in 2005.
"With the emergence of TMDL requirements, the city was able to partner with DEP to develop a cost-effective project that provides benefits for both needs, reducing the nitrogen discharged to the Intracoastal Waterway from storm water runoff and also providing measurable flood control improvements," Meserve said.
During Tropical Storm Fay in August, after pond construction was nearly complete, Atlantic Beach received more than 11 in. of rainfall in total--8.5 in. in 24 hours--with no home flooding in this basin. The project treats the storm water, removing nutrients and suspended solids, which helps the city to meet the TMDL limits for discharge to the St. Johns River.
The Hopkins Creek storm water retrofit project is included in the recently adopted Lower St. Johns River Basin Management Action Plan, the blueprint for reducing pollutant loads and restoring the river. As part of the plan, affected urban areas like the city of Atlantic Beach, have committed to doing storm water retrofits.
Source: Environment News Service
