Escambia County NRCS/EWP Historical Information
Following the April 2014 flooding event, Escambia County officials, working with Sen. Bill Nelson, Rep. Jeff Miller and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, completed and approved plans requesting assistance with the restoration of affected areas. The projects were deemed eligible and subsequently submitted to the Emergency Watershed Protection Program. Initially, the county was informed that funding was not available. However, in February of 2015 funds were made available. After a couple of grant amendments, the county received reimbursement for 75 percent of the construction costs and design costs of up to 12 percent of total construction costs. NRCS federal funding equated to $3,252,460 out of the total project costs of $4,338,522 for all seven restoration projects.
The projects covered under the grant included:
- Crescent Lake (watch video), 1.5 miles east of the intersection of Mobile Highway and Michigan Avenue; 600 feet north of Michigan Avenue. Stormwater toppled the 72-acre Crescent Lake embankment, causing flooding downstream. Flooding deposited sediment and debris to the side of Michigan Avenue, an arterial five-lane road, and threatened to destroy 14 apartments. The grant provided funding assistance to repair the breach in the Crescent Lake embankment and install a concrete emergency spillway. Total project cost was $818,133.
- The Gatewood Ditch (watch video), south of Gatewood Drive, 400 feet south of Johnson Avenue. The ditch eroded into a retention pond and an adjacent apartment complex. The debris and sediment from the erosion reduced the drainage capacity and threatened to destroy downstream drainage structures and further damage Johnson Avenue. The grant helped fund the cost to fill the eroded area, replace 1,700 feet of concrete-lined ditch, vegetate the side slopes, replace the damaged retention pond outlet and stabilize the stormwater facility outlet. Total project cost was $399,693.
- Olive Road (watch video), 1,000 feet southwest of the intersection of Scenic Highway and Olive Road. Erosion at the outlet of a concrete-lined waterway carved a gully adjacent to Olive Road 40 foot deep and 100 feet wide that threatened to collapse the westbound lane of Olive Road. Olive Road is a primary east-west arterial with an average daily traffic of 12,800 vehicles. The grant provided funding assistance to install a piped-drop structure, sediment control basin to stabilize the head of the gully, and safely discharge stormwater. Total project cost was $230,947.
- Glyn Brock Gully & Cypress Pointe (watch video) , 200 feet north of the intersection of Johnson Avenue and Olive Road. Sediment from the Gatewood ditch and storm debris reduced capacity in the stream channel, threatening to flood eight downstream homes on Winding Lane and five homes on Cypress Point. The grant helped fund the cost to remove sediment and debris from the stream channel and repair the eroded area with rock riprap and tied concrete block. Total project cost was $486,362.
- Addison Drive between Addison Drive and Scenic Highway/Escambia Bay, 300 feet east of Ellyson Field Industrial Park. A gully eroded into two homes on Addison Drive. The grant provided assistance together with Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to remove sediment and debris from the landslide, grade and shape the slope and install a conveyance system to move water to the outlet. Total NRCS project cost was $45,118.
- The Ten Mile Creek (watch video) channel was unstable, threatened collapse Pine Forest Road Bridge, and eroded the properties adjoining the creek of nine homes and eight townhouses. Workers stabilized the stream channel grade, addressed gully erosion on the channel sides and repaired the outlet structure at the bridge. Total project costs was $2,113,143.
- Swamphouse Road (watch video), next to the University of West Florida campus. Stream bank erosion threatened the road, utilities and the Swamphouse Restaurant-Marina. The storm tore the road in half and downed trees accumulated in the stream channel. The grant provided assistance to re-grade the side slope, plant sod and remove sediment/debris from the channel. The total project cost was $245,126.
