The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced it has granted Escambia County $11 million for a Bayou Chico Watershed project. The Bayou Chico Watershed consists of Bayou Chico, which discharges to Pensacola Bay and the tributaries of Jones Creek, Jackson Creek and Maggie’s Ditch.
Proposed projects include:
- Bill Gregory Park Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility project will capture and treat storm water runoff from approximately 37 acres currently discharging untreated runoff directly into the eastern head waters of Bayou Chico. The facility improvements will include a two-tier treatment train system with proprietary pretreatment units upstream to remove debris and floatables prior to entering a wet detention pond. The pond will be approximately 2.5 acres in size and will take an innovative approach to stormwater management by having multiple ecological benefits. In addition to its water quality improvement, the pond will serve as a wetland habitat for a variety of plants, birds and other aquatic animal species. This project has an estimated cost of $2.2 million.
- ‘R’ Street at Maggie’s Ditch Stormwater Treatment Enhancement Project will capture and provide an element of treatment for stormwater runoff from approximately 225 acres of primarily commercial area currently discharging untreated runoff directly into Maggie’s Ditch, a manmade wetland tributary that discharges to head waters of eastern Bayou Chico. The proposed project is currently listed in the approved projects under the restoration plan for Bayou Chico and improvements will include a proprietary underground treatment unit to remove an estimated 50 percent of total suspended solids (TSS) and debris/floatables prior to entering Maggie’s Ditch. It is estimated the system will remove approximately 20 tons of solids annually that would otherwise be discharged into Maggie’s Ditch and Bayou Chico. The project will also serve to protect the already completed Maggie’s Ditch Wetland Enhancement Phase I and II projects as identified in the restoration plan. This project has an estimated cost of $865,000.
- Beach Haven Northeast Stormwater Improvement Project Phase I - The majority of the existing development in the Beach Haven area is served by limited stormwater management systems. Therefore, untreated stormwater runoff flows directly into Jones Creek and Bayou Chico, contributing to water quality impairment. Escambia County has initiated design for the Beach Haven Northeast Stormwater Improvement Project and the design plans are 60 percent complete at this time. Escambia County has committed to a cost share of almost $2.2 million and is seeking NFWF funding of approximately $5 million for this project. Escambia County’s cost share includes funds from the County Community Redevelopment Agency, the County Neighborhood Enterprise Fund, Community Development Grant funds and a Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant to contribute toward new stormwater treatment in the Beach Haven area.
- The Jones Creek and Jackson Creek stream and wetland floodplain habitat restoration project would restore 2,500 linear feet of Jones Creek and 3,000 linear feet of Jackson Creek and includes stream enhancements, floodplain expansion, riparian wetland restoration and invasive exotic species eradication. Rosgen Natural Stream Channel Design principles will be utilized. The project will result in over 4 acres of wetland floodplain expansion and habitat restoration along Jones Creek and over 2 acres of wetland floodplain expansion and habitat restoration along Jackson Creek. In addition to the expected water quality benefits shown in Table 1, stream restoration projects are expected to provide an increase in macroinvertebrate species due to improved benthic habitat quality. This project would expand on the already completed Jones Creek East Stream Restoration project that restored 1,200 linear feet of Jones Creek between Navy Boulevard and Old Corry Field Road. This project has an estimated cost of $3 million.
This is one of the 15 projects in Florida that were submitted for consideration to be funded under NFWF’s Gulf Environmental Benefit fund for 2014; only nine projects were approved at a total of nearly $35 million.
For a listing of additional projects approved by NFWF for Florida and other Gulf Coast States visit: http://www.nfwf.org/Pages/default.aspx.
