CLEARWATER — Pinellas County commissioners have thrown their support behind a federal study of the aging structure that controls Lake Tarpon, saying rising tides and stronger storms have begun to overwhelm a system built nearly 60 years ago to protect surrounding neighborhoods from flooding.
Commissioners voted unanimously to send a letter of community support for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Lake Tarpon Outfall Structure and Outfall Canal Feasibility Study, which could lead to improvements to the structure or its replacement.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District has committed about $1.5 million in matching money. What the project still needs is a federal share — and that will require congressional support.
“The study is essential to ensure Lake Tarpon continues to receive flood protection and freshwater management benefits the structure was designed to provide,” said Kelli Hammer Levy, the county’s public works director.
The Army Corps built the structure in 1969 as part of the Four River Basins, Florida Project. It is the lake’s only surface water outlet to Old Tampa Bay, releasing water by gravity to keep lake levels down and salt water out. The water management district has operated and maintained it since 1974.
Those conditions have changed. Higher tidal elevations and more frequent coastal storms have cut the difference in elevation between the lake and the bay that the structure depends on to drain, Hammer Levy said. High tides and storm surge have pushed water over the structure, slowing or stopping the flow out of the lake.
Storm surge from Hurricane Idalia in 2023 and Hurricane Debby in 2024 forced extended gate closures and left the county unable to release floodwater for more than 24 hours, County Commission Chairman Dave Eggers wrote in the letter.
“With these challenges expected to intensify, a comprehensive feasibility study is needed to establish the technical basis for long-term strategies that maintain flood protection, safeguard nearby communities and infrastructure, and preserve Lake Tarpon as a freshwater resource,” Eggers wrote.
The lake is the county’s largest freshwater body and ranks among Florida’s top 10 bass fisheries, a draw for anglers and tourists, he added.
A recent Army Corps assessment concluded that the changed conditions warrant a fuller evaluation, Hammer Levy said. The Corps is prepared to move ahead once federal money is in place.
“The next step is to garner community and congressional support to allocate funding,” she said.
County approves Fire Station 70 grant
Commissioners also unanimously approved $640,257 to help Tarpon Springs pay for a new Fire Station 70, replacing a building the county says has outlived its safe service life.
Built in 1977 at 1025 Gulf Road, Station 70 is the oldest active station in the Tarpon Springs Fire Rescue district. It covers the western side of the city and houses a shallow-water marine unit.
“The city has presented to the county a need for a new fire station to replace the existing Fire Station 70, which is past its serviceable and safe useful life,” said David Hare, interim director of Pinellas County Safety and Emergency Services.
The money may go toward land acquisition, engineering, site preparation, design, construction and related costs, Hare said.
The $7 million station is about 73% complete, according to a city project update, with completion expected in late fall. A backup generator has been delivered and the roof is 90% finished. Stucco, exterior work and sidewalks are done. Crews are continuing interior framing, drywall, fascia and electrical work, and painting is underway, subject to weather delays.