FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 21, 2014
BAY COUNTY RECEIVES DEP GRANTS FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
~Projects aid in stormwater runoff management~
The newly constructed Spring
Avenue Stormwater Facility in Bay County features new landscaping and a walking
path.
TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection awarded more
than $1.5 million in grants for the construction of two water quality
improvement projects in Bay County. Bay County Public Works department, in
partnership with DEP, completed construction on the Spring Avenue Stormwater Facility
earlier this month.
The department awarded $775,000 in grant funding for the
project that provided much needed infrastructure upgrades for the county. The
new stormwater pond, situated in a park-like setting featuring a fountain, walking
trail and landscaped island, will improve water quality of discharges into
Watson Bayou.
A second water quality project in Panama City, benefiting from an additional $785,000 in DEP grant funding, will begin construction this month. The Lisenby
Avenue Stormwater Management Facility will include a new stormwater pond,
upland irrigation system and an ADA-accessible paved walking trail. This
project will improve the water quality of discharges into St. Andrews Bay and benefit
adjacent wetlands. The designs and permit applications were prepared by
Northwest Florida Water Management District and the Panama City Engineering
Department. The department will reimburse the city in grant
funding upon completion of the project, which is anticipated in February 2015.
“Great water quality means more time spent at Bay County's world-class beaches,”
said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. “Upgrading infrastructure and constructing new stormwater ponds in Bay County will further protect the natural resources for our residents and visitors to enjoy.”
The restoration funds made available for these projects came
under a June 18, 2012, consent decree between DEP and a 10-percent non-operating
investor in the lease on the Macondo well at the time of the Deepwater Horizon spill. DEP is
overseeing the expenditure of these funds on stormwater retrofit projects
throughout the Panhandle.
Urban stormwater runoff and nonpoint source pollution
present the most significant continuing source of water and sediment quality
degradation in the affected areas of the Panhandle, whose coastal waters
received oiling after the Deepwater
Horizon spill. Stormwater retrofit
projects play a key role in protecting waterways by protecting water quality
and managing flows.
For information
directly related to Florida’s response and restoration activities relating to
the Deepwater Horizon spill click here.
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