Background/Objectives
The Hillsborough River, the namesake of Florida’s fourth most populous county of nearly 1.5 million, is the cultural and economic artery for the City of Tampa. The dammed upper stream serves as a major freshwater reservoir for a large population. The lower tidally influenced section discharges into Tampa Bay through downtown Tampa. The Hillsborough River watershed has been heavily urbanized since the 1920s, including buried streams, altered springs, and hardened shoreline. The Lower Hillsborough River watershed, comprising an entirely urban area, spans 55.4 km2. A significant stretch of the lower Hillsborough River is of very low elevation and is highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and storm-surge flooding. Three sites were selected for this project. The overall goal of this project is to engaging the communities and applying different types of nature-based solutions to reduce untreated stormwater discharges into the river at two of the sites and to protect against flooding due to sea-level rise and storm impact at the third site.
Approach/Activities
Three popular City of Tampa parks, Riverside Garden Park, River Tower Park, and Rowlett Park, were selected for this project. All three parks serve densely populated at-risk communities and are exposed to different types climate hazards. Three different nature-based solutions (NBS) are designed for the three sites. A living-shoreline composed of artificial reefs and wetlands is designed for the low-lying Riverside Garden Park to protect again flooding associated with the rising sea level and storm surge. At the historical River Tower Park, a wetland is designed to treat stormwater before entering the river. This contrasts with the present design of a traditional stormwater retention pond. At Rowlett Park, daylighting a buried stream and a wetland are designed to treat stormwater before discharging into the upstream end of the river. Extensive community engagements are being conducted to develop the concept, design the NBS, and promote the designs.
Results/Lessons Learned
This is an on-going project. The presentation will be focused on the site selection and justification, analysis of existing climate-related hazards, development of concepts through community engagement, design of the NBS at the three sties, and promotion to the community of the proposed NBS. Another main goal is to exchange knowledge and experience with colleagues at this conference.