City Releases New Video Showing South Howard Flood Relief Project in Action News General, News Mayor Office, News Transportation and Stormwater Services City of Tampa Releases[...]

Watch the South Howard Flood Relief Project in action

The City of Tampa is releasing a new video to the public showing the South Howard Flood Relief Project in action.

Created by global engineering firm AtkinsRéalis, part of the project's design-build team, the 20-second video shows a simulated "BEFORE AND AFTER" of flooding from a strong summer storm, a 5-year, 8-hour rain event that drops 5.3 inches of rain on the Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines neighborhoods of South Tampa.

The "BEFORE" flood map shows significant flooding in both neighborhoods, with at least 96 structures flooding under these conditions. Viewers will also see under the existing conditions, it takes more than 12 hours for the flooding to fully drain.

Both models assume the existing pipes, ponds and culverts have been properly maintained.

The "AFTER" map, with the South Howard Flood Relief Project in place, shows no flooding in Parkland Estates and significantly less flooding in Palma Ceia Pines. Most importantly, the project eliminates structural flooding in both neighborhoods.

And timing matters. The remaining flooding in Palma Ceia Pines begins draining by Hour 5, at the same point when flooding under existing conditions is reaching its peak.

Every street, more than a thousand homes, and numerous businesses benefits from this kind of flood relief. When you're dealing with this level of flooding, every moment matters, especially with doctors' offices and a hospital facility within the flooding area.

Today, Mayor Castor met with residents and business owners in both neighborhoods to share the new video and review the project's 60% design plans. Video from this meeting will be released shortly.