Photo provided Crews from JP Murphy Inc. build the molding for the concrete cap

East County Water Control District is making great strides with stimulus-funded Yellowtail Project. The project replaces two failing water control structures, S-YT-1A and S-YT-1B, at the intersection of Yellowtail and Wedgewood canals.

The Yellowtail Project is entirely funded by a stimulus loan of $629,280.14 administered by Florida Department of Environmental Protection. ECWCD’s Harns Marsh Phase I and Yellowtail Projects were among the first federal stimulus funded projects in Southwest Florida; the stimulus-loan program focused on projects that were construction-ready and of critical need.

“The two Yellowtail structures were given a failure rating in the District’s 2007 Facility Review,” said Assistant District Manager Mike Cook. “The funding came at a critical time and we were fortunate enough to have the design finished and permits approved.”

When contractor, J.P. Murphy Inc., began work on July 6, the Yellowtail 1A structure was completing failing with a hole approximately 20 feet long and 8 feet tall – large enough to drive a car through.

The contractor has been working for just over five weeks and the work is nearly 40 percent complete. When the work is completed by Dec. 6, the district will be able to more effectively regulate the flow of water through this area.

Photo provided The concrete cap after the molding was removed.

The district has several additional weirs and culverts that need replaced, but the revenue is not readily available.

“We have been fortunate in receiving the stimulusloan funds, but we have many more structures that still need to be replaced,” said Cook.

The two failing structures are being replaced with one larger L-shape structure constructed from steel sheet piling with a concrete cap and automated weir gates.

According to Cook, the L-shaped design increases the efficiency of the structures while reducing costs. If the district were to construct two new structures, it would have cost between $400,000 and $450,000 each to complete. The district has saved nearly $200,000 with this design because it reduces the costs associated with having multiple telemetry systems and lowers the number of monitoring platforms.

Carla Ulakovic is a community project specialist with the East County Water Control district. – Ed.

Photo provided Crews from JP Murphy Inc. install the L-shaped sheet piling for the new structure.