St. Pete Council approves innovative storm solutions

Mayor Ken Welch has touted the need for agile resilience since back-to-back hurricanes decimated the area in September and October. St. Petersburg will now purchase a deployable flood wall and waterproof sewer infrastructure.

City Council members unanimously approved the initiatives Thursday afternoon. Administrators plan to have a custom-manufactured AquaFence, an impermeable flood barrier, ready to protect a downtown lift station before hurricane season begins in June.

The rapidly deployable FloodWall system made national headlines in September as it safeguarded Tampa General Hospital from Hurricane Helene’s seven-foot storm surge. Councilmember Brandi Gabbard noted she and her colleagues cheered when they heard the purchase request.

“Anything we can do that’s creative and an immediate pivot to making us more resilient on these infrastructure items – we’re all for,” Gabbard said. “So, I’m very excited that you brought these today.”

The city will receive 518 linear feet of AquaFence in 20 weather-resistant crates for $628,000. Company representatives will conduct an onsite training session with the lift station’s maintenance team to ensure proper deployment and operations.

The impermeable barrier will encircle Lift Station #85 near Albert Whitted Airport. Claude Tankersley, public works director, said it collects wastewater throughout the downtown waterfront and pumps it to the Southwest Sewer Treatment Plant.

Tankersley said the lift station, with a 6.5-foot base elevation, never flooded until Helene. Forecasters expected Hurricane Milton to cause a 15-foot surge, more than double the previous storm’s impact.

Tankersley said the nine-foot AquaFence combined with the 6.5-foot elevation provides a “good deal of protection.” He also noted it “takes a long time for these to be manufactured,” and the goal is to “get them in before the storm season.”

A graphic highlighting the lift station’s service area. Screengrab.

While Tankersley said the administration could buy additional AquaFences in the future, Gabbard and others questioned why the city’s first would protect sewer service downtown. Officials shuttered the Northeast and Southwest Sewer Treatment Plants during Milton to avoid catastrophic flooding.

Tankersley said the lift station has a smaller footprint, and the AquaFence costs $1,150 per linear foot. It also requires a level concrete base not found at the treatment facilities.

“Luckily for us, there are a variety of different … deployable barriers that work in different ways,” Tankersley said. “We’re looking at all the different types out there to make sure that if we’re going to pursue using them, we use the right product for the right application.”

He explained that encircling entire neighborhoods would require “tens of millions of dollars.” Protecting wastewater facilities and avoiding shutdowns during the next storm is the current focus.

Constructing a new lift station would cost over $26 million. Council Chair Copley Gerdes said he would rather spend the $618,000. “I appreciate you and your team and the creative thinking,” he added.

Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz noted that many “of our critical facilities area served by that station. A lot of our hospitals and everything are downtown.”

The council also approved a $2 million contract increase with Tarpon Springs-based Razorback LLC. That will allow the infrastructure construction, repair and maintenance company to coat exposed potable, reclaimed and wastewater pipes and tanks with a waterproofing compound.

He said the city coats tank interiors to extend service life. The process, called “dry flood-proofing,” can protect against storm surges that quickly dissipate.

“One of the things that occurred to our team was that we used coating on the inside of some of our tanks – to waterproof the tank – can we use some of these coatings on the outside of some of our facilities to make them a little bit more resistant to water,” Tankersley said.

He elaborated that the city would dry flood-proof vulnerable water infrastructure until “we’re able to elevate those facilities.” Various equipment at the Northwest and Southwest Sewer Treatment Plants will receive the coatings.

“We’re trying to figure out ways we can do things quickly now to help us be more resilient – recognizing that we have larger projects in the pipeline for later on,” Tankersley said.

A graphic highlighting waterproofing efforts at the Northwest Sewer Treatment Plant in flood-prone Riviera Bay. Screengrab.