Construction recently began on an improvement project on Clearwater's Prospect Lake Park.
Located in
downtown Clearwater at Prospect Avenue and Franklin Street, the approximately $800,000 project is designed to improve the water quality of Prospect Lake, which serves as a regional stormwater pond for an area of the downtown district; the pond ultimately discharges into
Clearwater Harbor.
According to
City of Clearwater Engineering Department Environmental Specialist Sarah Josuns, sediment has built up in Prospect Lake. Using a dredge to remove the sediment, the lake will also be expanded to the south; various wetland plants will also be added to the south end of the pond.
“With the expansion of the lake, stormwater will have additional detention time while the new littoral shelf with wetland plants will have an opportunity to absorb nutrients,” Josuns says. “Stormwater is directed to this lake so many properties in the area do not need to have their own pond.”
Funded by
stormwater utility fees, the sediment removal phase is already underway and is expected to be complete by early December 2012. The second phase including pond expansion and wetland plantings will begin in early 2013. Phase two is slated to take about six months, with completion planned for July 2013.
Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Sarah Josuns,
City of Clearwater
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