TAMPA, Fla. — The City of Tampa has opened a new park that will not only serve as a beautiful space for residents and neighbors, but will also help alleviate flooding.

Cindy Farias is no stranger to the Interbay Boulevard area of ​​Tampa where she took a stroll Tuesday morning.

“I taught at Ballast Point for 35 years,” Farias said. “I’ve lived here in North Adams for, hell, 17 years.”

Everyone in the area knows how prone the area is to flooding.

“My father and my brother still live in the area, and they didn’t have any flooding during the last visit. But a lot of people have, and I’m very excited about this park for several reasons,” she said.

This new space, called MacDill 48 Park, is nestled south of Gandy near MacDill Air Force Base.

Its goal goes beyond just getting out into nature.

Tampa city leaders point out that the park has an integrated stormwater component, which they say will help prevent flooding in surrounding neighborhoods while improving water quality in Hillsborough Bay.

“In the last two storms that we’ve seen in a 12-day span, following a drought in July, then record rainfall in September, and then those two storms, the project area that was built on the MacDill 48 project the footprint worked pretty well,” said Vik Bhide, mobility director for the City of Tampa.

Bhide explained how it works.

“This project has real gray infrastructure, so concrete pipes that go into neighborhoods, connect to a large stormwater basin that creates storage, as well as water quality, so percolation and everything , and then you have an outfall, a huge outfall that goes to Hillsborough Bay,” Bhide said. “So it takes the water from the neighborhoods, treats it in the stormwater pond, and then discharges it into the bay. in case of storm.”

City leaders recognize that this is not the complete answer to the problem, but it can be part of the solution.

“We are in a low-lying peninsula that will continue to struggle with flooding,” Bhide said. “That doesn’t mean that we don’t do projects like these. It just means that we are much more thoughtful about projects like these that can address issues of resilience but also quality of life.