Tampa Bay Region - Southwest Florida Water Management District

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Project Name
Project Number
Cooperator
Department
Contact Person
Address
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
FY2014 COOPERATIVE FUNDING INITIATIVE APPLICATION FORM
WMP - Hillsborough County - Brooker, Double Branch, Rocky/Brushy, Sweetwater and Lower
Sweetwater Creek Watersheds
N400
Hillsborough County BOCC
James Barrington
601 E. Kennedy Blvd, 20th Floo
City Sate Zip Tampa, FL 33602
Phone # 813-307-4427
Email
barringtonj@hillsboroughcounty.org
Project Type:
X Water Supply X Water Quality X Flood Protection X Natural Systems
Strategic Initiatives:
X Water Quality Maintenance and Improvement Water Quality Monitoring
X Alternative Water Supply Conservation
Reclaimed Water Regional Water Supply Planning
X Emergency Flood Response Floodplain Management
X Minimum Flows and Level Establishment and Monitoring Minimum Flows and Levels Recovery
Natural Systems Conservation and Restoration Natural Systems Identification and Monitoring
Indicate All Counties to Benefit From Project:
Charlotte Citrus Desoto Hardee Hernando Highlands X Hillsborough Lake
Levy Manatee Marion X Pasco X Pinellas Sarasota Sumter Polk
Project Description:
The Brooker Creek, Double Branch Creek, Rocky/Brushy Creek, Sweetwater Creek, and Lower Sweetwater Creek Watershed
Management Plan Studies were initially completed at the end of FY2002 and individually updated between 2004 and 2010. These
watersheds comprise an area of about 130 square miles in northwest Hillsborough County. All previous reports contain information
on data collection, model calibration/verification, and existing conditions for water quantity. Alternatives were evaluated to solve
identified flooding, and the proposed recommendations in these reports support the current stormwater Capital Improvement
Program (CIP) that protects and enhances the quality of life in our community. This is a proposal for a multi-year funded project to
update the topographic information, watershed assessment, and alternatives analysis of these studies, and include an assessment
of water quality. New mapping is available for the area, consisting of 2007 LiDAR mapping. The watershed assessment will update
the project area database, including land use/land cover, hydrologic/hydraulic inventory, and document interconnections between
the watersheds. This information will be used to update the model and floodplain mapping. The new floodplain mapping will be
submitted to FEMA for adoption into the National Flood Insurance Program. FY2012 funding will be used for the model update with
the new topographic information and new Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) data, and alternatives analysis elements. In
addition to the event based model (Natural Resource Conservation Service method), a long term simulation model (Green-Ampt/
Non-linear reservoir method) will also be developed. Future funding will be required for the complete watershed management plans
in terms of flooding control, water quality, water supply, and natural systems.
Describe your organizations efforts in developing, implementing and enforcing water conservation and flood protection
ordinances.
Water Conservation: Hillsborough County was the premier local government to criminalize the violation of water use restrictions,
and to adopt a civil citation process for the enforcement of the same in July 1993. A fulltime Water Conservation Manager assures
that the County stays abreast of conservation issues. This facilitates amendments to the County’s Water Conservation Ordinance
(HCO 91-27) as needed to quickly address changing conditions in the regulatory environment and as deemed appropriate by the
County’s administration.
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