FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 28, 2015
CITY OF TITUSVILLE AWARDED $1.2 MILLION FOR PROJECT AT DRAA FIELD STORMWATER
PARK
~Project to provide water-quality benefits, flood protection and recreational opportunities~
TITUSVILLE, Fla. – The
Department of Environmental Protection has awarded the city of
Titusville nearly $1.2 million in funding for a stormwater
project at the Draa Field Stormwater Park.
The Draa Field project
will benefit Indian River Lagoon's water quality, provide flood protection for an adjacent
community and offer new recreational and environmental-education opportunities by creating a multi-use
trail to serve as a trail head for the East Central Regional Rail Trail.
Construction of the project is expected to begin in December 2015 and to be completed by October 2016.
“DEP is pleased to partner with the
city of Titusville to protect the Indian River Lagoon,” said Trina Vielhauer,
director of the Division of Water Restoration Assistance. “This project is an
excellent example of combining creative community enhancement with
environmental protection.”
The stormwater project includes the construction of
a treatment system, known as a Stormwater Treatment Train
(STT). A STT consists of a combination of components that are designed to
capture, manage and treat stormwater before it leaves the site, reducing the
amount of pollutants discharged offsite. In addition, a STT system is an effective approach to stormwater management that has the added benefit of potentially reducing infrastructure and maintenance costs.
Specially, this project includes
a 4-acre wet detention pond with planted shoreline and aeration
system. The plants filter and reduce
the amount of sediments and debris entering the pond, and the aeration system provides oxygen
to deter algae blooms and excess aquatic plant growth. The stormwater collected in the pond will be further treated through a permeable barrier made
of limerock along with a constructed wetland, which will remove additional
pollutants before the water is discharged offsite. Flooding in the area
will be reduced by increasing the size of the pipes to the pond, which will
remove water faster from the adjacent neighborhoods.
Stormwater runoff
from the parking lot will be reduced by using pervious paving that filters the
water into the ground instead of leaving the site.
The Draa Field Stormwater Park project is expected to remove at
least 45 percent of total nitrogen and 71 percent of total
phosphorus from stormwater that enters the
park from the surrounding area, significantly reducing the amount of nutrients that reach
the Indian River Lagoon.
“The city of Titusville is very excited about this project,”
said Sandra Reller, the city’s environmental compliance manager. “The project
design incorporates some new, innovative treatment technologies, which are
expected to increase the amount of pollutants that the project can remove over and above original estimates. Using this treatment train approach we can get more
protection for the Indian River Lagoon from a single project.”
Funding for this project
comes from a $800,000 state appropriation and a 319 federal grant of $389,000. The city of Titusville will provide more than $400,000 in matching
funds.
| 
