Largo to inventory stormwater system

The city of Largo will begin a comprehensive inventory of the entire city stormwater system to meet regulatory requirements for water quality and flood protection.

“To me, it was almost troubling that we didn’t have this already in house,” Commissioner Curtis Holmes commented during the commission meeting Sept. 1. “I know there (are) some mysteries out there. I was just surprised that we don’t have this as an ongoing thing that, all of a sudden, boom, we have to go out and hire somebody to tell us what we should have known all along.”

The city does have some data on the stormwater system, but the maps were developed over a number of years from a number of different sources, said Eric Moos, the city’s geographic information system administrator.

“However, the information is incomplete, with respect to – in some cases – the type of structure, the size of it, the age, material,” Moos said. “This effort was to collect all of it with one group, with a consistent methodology and … to develop one database that incorporated all of the information from previous studies that we’ve done up to this point.”

Largo commissioners voted 5-1 to award the project to the consultant Greenman-Pedersen at the cost of $200,000. Commissioner Michael Smith voted against the project; Commissioner Donna Holck was absent.

Most of the cost of the project will be taken from the city’s stormwater fund, with the help of a $75,000 grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

The consultant also will provide recommendations for phase two of the project, which will involve analyzing the city’s stormwater system to assess its level of service and develop methods for keeping up with the city’s assets moving forward. Phase one is expected to be complete by June 2016, with phase two to follow in the beginning of the new fiscal year.