FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 27, 2016
DEP HELPS FUND TALLAHASSEE WATER-QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PROJECT
~Stormwater treatment project will reduce nutrient loading in Upper Lake Lafayette~
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –
The
Florida Department of Environmental Protection awarded the city of Tallahassee
a $500,000 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) grant to help fund construction of the $6 million Upper Lake Lafayette Nutrient Reduction Facility. The new facility will improve water quality by significantly reducing the amount of nutrients ultimately reaching the Ochlockonee-St. Marks River Basin.
"We are pleased to award grants to Florida communities to help fund their area stormwater projects," said Trina Vielhauer, director of the Division of Water Restoration
Assistance. "These nutrient-reduction projects are an important step in restoring and protecting our state's waterways, big and small."
Through this project, the Weems Road Stormwater Treatment Facility, an existing wet detention pond, was enlarged and deepened to create a chemically enhanced stormwater treatment system known as the Upper Lake Lafayette Nutrient Reduction Facility. This facility is now able to treat stormwater runoff from the more than 10,000-acre sub-watershed, significantly reducing nutrient loading to Upper Lake Lafayette, and ultimately, the Ochlockonee-St. Marks River Basin.
"We are thankful DEP was able to assist with
this innovative project," said Mark Heidecker, environmental specialist
with the city of Tallahassee. "Preliminary monitoring of the Upper
Lake Lafayette Nutrient Reduction Facility already shows reductions in
pollutant loading, and we anticipate continued water-quality enhancement moving
forward."
For more information, watch this video about the Upper Lake Lafayette Nutrient Reduction Facility project.
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