Southwest Lehigh Weirs project progresses on concrete work
CARLA BRANTLEY Wiers under construction in the Southwest Wiers project in Lehigh Acres.
Progress is booming in Lehigh Acres as crews add improvements to the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District’s stormwater management system.
The Southwest Lehigh Weirs, otherwise known as the Aquifer Benefit and Storage for the Orange River Basin, project provides construction of 25 weirs through a partnership, including the Florida Department of Transportation, South Florida Water Management District and Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
It is a crucial step to making tangible improvements in the health of the Caloosahatchee and estuary through improved water quality and aquifer recharge and increased storage for the Orange River Basin.
A weir is a low dam built across a canal or river to raise the level of water upstream or regulate its flow.
The project is funded, in part, through a $1.22 million grant through the FDEP’s TMDL Water Quality Restoration Grant program and financial support from FDOT.
CARLA BRANTLEY Wiers under construction in the Southwest Wiers project in Lehigh Acres.
Annually, the state legislature provides funding for the implementation of best management practices, such as regional stormwater treatment facilities, designed to reduce pollutant loads to impaired waters from urban stormwater discharges. This funding is administered by FDEP as the TMDL Water Quality Restoration Grant.
“Lehigh Acres MSID has positioned itself as a change agent for the betterment of Lehigh Acres and is helping to provide much needed services to its constituents,” Michael Welch, chairman of the LA-MSID board, said.
Additional funding was secured through an agreement between LA-MSID and FDOT, in which FDOT will purchase the ability to discharge into the district’s stormwater system and receive fill dirt for the state Road 82 widening project.
The agreement has helped speed up the timeframe for construction, as well as for LA-MSID’s capital projects, has eliminated the need for roadside retention ponds along SR 82, has allowed the district to be proactive in solving infrastructure needs and provided the ability to construct crucial stormwater projects without imposing an assessment increase on ratepayers.
Through the agreement, LA-MSID is able to help reduce the effects on the Caloosahatchee and support the state’s efforts through the construction of several capital projects such as Southwest Weirs, Hendry Canal Widening and the West Marsh project.
“These efforts bare no extra expense on ratepayers and show a true collegiate efforts between local government agencies and elected officials,” Welch said.
Assistant District Manager Michael Cook noted that the project will increase canal control elevations and local groundwater levels by constructing 25 weirs within an approximately ten square mile area in southwest Lehigh.
“Lehigh Acres MSID will improve stormwater storage by at least 754 acre-feet of storage depending on the severity of the storm event,” District Manager David Lindsay said.
LA-MSID’s contractor is completing the concrete work on the last five of the 25 weirs. It has begun installing the gates’ catwalks and control features and has a completion date set in July
Source: Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District
-
- CARLA BRANTLEY Wiers under construction in the Southwest Wiers project in Lehigh Acres.
Southwest Lehigh Weirs project progresses on concrete work
CARLA BRANTLEY Wiers under construction in the Southwest Wiers project in Lehigh Acres.
Progress is booming in Lehigh Acres as crews add improvements to the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District’s stormwater management system.
The Southwest Lehigh Weirs, otherwise known as the Aquifer Benefit and Storage for the Orange River Basin, project provides construction of 25 weirs through a partnership, including the Florida Department of Transportation, South Florida Water Management District and Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
It is a crucial step to making tangible improvements in the health of the Caloosahatchee and estuary through improved water quality and aquifer recharge and increased storage for the Orange River Basin.
A weir is a low dam built across a canal or river to raise the level of water upstream or regulate its flow.
The project is funded, in part, through a $1.22 million grant through the FDEP’s TMDL Water Quality Restoration Grant program and financial support from FDOT.
CARLA BRANTLEY Wiers under construction in the Southwest Wiers project in Lehigh Acres.
Annually, the state legislature provides funding for the implementation of best management practices, such as regional stormwater treatment facilities, designed to reduce pollutant loads to impaired waters from urban stormwater discharges. This funding is administered by FDEP as the TMDL Water Quality Restoration Grant.
“Lehigh Acres MSID has positioned itself as a change agent for the betterment of Lehigh Acres and is helping to provide much needed services to its constituents,” Michael Welch, chairman of the LA-MSID board, said.
Additional funding was secured through an agreement between LA-MSID and FDOT, in which FDOT will purchase the ability to discharge into the district’s stormwater system and receive fill dirt for the state Road 82 widening project.
The agreement has helped speed up the timeframe for construction, as well as for LA-MSID’s capital projects, has eliminated the need for roadside retention ponds along SR 82, has allowed the district to be proactive in solving infrastructure needs and provided the ability to construct crucial stormwater projects without imposing an assessment increase on ratepayers.
Through the agreement, LA-MSID is able to help reduce the effects on the Caloosahatchee and support the state’s efforts through the construction of several capital projects such as Southwest Weirs, Hendry Canal Widening and the West Marsh project.
“These efforts bare no extra expense on ratepayers and show a true collegiate efforts between local government agencies and elected officials,” Welch said.
Assistant District Manager Michael Cook noted that the project will increase canal control elevations and local groundwater levels by constructing 25 weirs within an approximately ten square mile area in southwest Lehigh.
“Lehigh Acres MSID will improve stormwater storage by at least 754 acre-feet of storage depending on the severity of the storm event,” District Manager David Lindsay said.
LA-MSID’s contractor is completing the concrete work on the last five of the 25 weirs. It has begun installing the gates’ catwalks and control features and has a completion date set in July
Source: Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District
-
- CARLA BRANTLEY Wiers under construction in the Southwest Wiers project in Lehigh Acres.
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