Aquatic Gardens-Hopkins Creek Stormwater Improvements

July 2023 Update

Phase I - Enlarging the box culvert at Aquatic Drive at the shopping center and improving hydraulics in the ditch between Atlantic Boulevard and Cavalla Drive. The City now has a $1.5 million contract for construction funding via FEMA after waiting for several years for this critical piece of project funding to be approved.

Due to recent substantial increases in construction costs, the City requested and received an additional $500,000 state appropriation in 2023 to augment the $300,000 state appropriation the City previously The plan is to put Phase I out to bid for construction on Aug. 28, 2023,  with construction commencing in the fall.

Phase II – Enlarging the box culvert on Cutlass Drive and improving the capacity of the drainage ditch in the Cutlass Drive area. FEMA has approved funding for the design of this project. As soon as a contract is signed, we will procure engineering design services and initiate the design. After the design is completed, we will request construction funding from FEMA to augment the $500,000 state allocation we already have allocated to this project.

Questions about the project? Please email info@coab.us or call (904) 247-5804.

July 6, 2022 Update

The overall project is split into three phases and funding sources for each phase are being secured. Each phase of the project builds on the previous phase. When Phase I is complete, the City will commence work on Phase II, and then Phase II. Following is a brief description/update of each phase and funding status:

Phase I – This phase of the project includes enlarging the box culvert at Aquatic Drive at the shopping center and improving hydraulics in the ditch between Atlantic Boulevard and Cavalla Drive. This phase also includes improvements to the Aquatic Gardens pond including a pump station and increased stormwater storage capacity to reduce the flood stage in the surrounding Aquatic Gardens residential area for the 25-year/24-hour or less storm event. This phase of the project is designed and permitted. 25% of the construction cost is in place via the city and a $300,000 State of Florida appropriation, with the remaining 75% funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The City expects FEMA to approve funding by the end of 2022, at the latest.

Phase II – This phase of the project is enlarging the box culvert on Cutlass Drive and improving the capacity of the drainage ditch in the Cutlass Drive area. The design has not commenced; rather, it will be initiated after Phase I is complete. Funding will be provided by the City and via a $500,000 state allocation. The City also has applied for FEMA HMGP funding to assist with construction but we have not been awarded a grant yet.

Phase III – Phase III includes widening the ditch between Cutlass Drive and Plaza. This is a multi-million dollar project that commences after Phase II is complete. The City has a jump-start on funding via an allocation of $500,000 in the State of Florida’s Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget. The City also has applied for several grants to assist with this portion of the project.

Questions about the project? Please email info@coab.us or call (904) 247-5804.

October 28, 2021 Update

The project design has been completed with the first phase of improvements to the Aquatic Gardens pond and drainage ditch. The City is waiting on FEMA to release funding to initiate construction. Funding is expected to be released in early 2022. 

A project update was provided to the community on Oct. 15, 2021. Here is the presentation by City Engineer Steve Swann.

Questions about the project? Please email info@coab.us or call (904) 247-5804.

October 20, 2020 Update

The project’s priority is to provide additional protection from flooding to the Aquatic Gardens and Cavalla Road areas. As such, the first phase of this work will include raising the height of the pond bank and dredging the pond to provide more storage of stormwater runoff. In conjunction with raising the bank and dredging the pond, the City will be installing a structure that will keep water from the drainage ditch from entering to the pond during storm events and piping to enable the pond to be pumped down to create more storage before a storm arrives. In addition, the City will be widening the drainage ditch and enlarging the box culvert at the entrance to the shopping center off of Aquatic Drive to increase the capacity of this drainage system during severe storm events.

The City’s engineers are at nearly 100% design with the first phase of improvements to the Aquatic Gardens pond and drainage ditch.