New City Tidal Valve Arrives for Critical Flood Mitigation Project
Recently, the City of Cape Canaveral received its first tidal valve as part of the efforts to alleviate flooding in the Center Street Drainage Basin. The valve and its pump station counterpart are partially funded by a $467,500 Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) grant awarded to the City in 2023.
Since 2020, Staff has observed six significant and disruptive flood events in the City, particularly in the Center Street Drainage Basin in the Presidential Streets neighborhood. This is a built-out area of the community with extensive paved, impervious surfaces, which increase the volume and speed of stormwater runoff entering the City’s underground stormwater system. The Center Street Basin drains to a single outfall on the Banana River Lagoon at Center Street Park. The outfall is often partially or fully submerged, causing backflow and a subsequent reduction in the efficiency of the Center Street Basin system drainage. The City is constructing a project to mitigate the flooding observed in the Center Street Basin that has two components.
Operable Tidal Valve at Center Street Drainage Basin Outfall
A tidal valve is a stormwater check-valve that can be operated to or passively prevent lagoon water from back-flowing into the stormwater system during periods of high water levels. During intense rainfall events, the tidal valve would operate in tandem with the permanent pump station. Once levels have returned to baseline, the tidal valve would reopen and the pump station would cease operation.
Permanent Diesel-powered Pump Station on Center Street
In preparation for and during intense rainfall events, the proposed pump would convey excess water from the stormwater system and safely into the lagoon at a targeted rate of 6,000-6,200 gallons per minute. Being diesel-powered and with the ability to auto-regulate, the pump will have capacity to remain active during power outages. Staff will be able to monitor and operate the pump from the City’s Water Reclamation Facility via an automatic level control system linked into the City’s lift station SCADA system. The pump itself will be enclosed in a sound-attenuated housing to limit noise during operation. It will remain off and silent during non-flood periods.
The Center Street tidal valve and pump station are funded by the FDEP grant and federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. As a whole, the project is expected to be completed by Summer 2024, and was a prominent recommendation made in the City’s Stormwater Report for Center Street Improvements, prepared by Mead & Hunt in 2022.
As a barrier island, the City is inherently vulnerable to weather and climate-related hazards. This project will serve to significantly improve the community’s overall resilience, and will boost its adaptive capacity to handle increasing instances of heavy rainfall and long-term sea level rise.
The project is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. During this time, Center Street Park will be closed to the public and the project’s contractor will be utilizing the north side of Center Street for construction. This will result in a downsized two-lane road on the south side to allow residents in and out of their development. Construction on this project will take approximately three (3) months to complete. If you have any questions, please contact the City’s Capital Project Director at (321) 868-1220 Ext. 202 or email t.carlisle@capecanaveral.gov.
