BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Emergency Management Director Lt. Brad Witt has presented a possible funding source to update the flood control gates at Sampson Lake from a manual to electronically controlled structure.
According to Witt, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds became available through FEMA and the state of Florida because of the impacts of Hurricane Idalia last year.
The grant could help finally modernize the control structure gates. Crews currently must fight gravity, water pressure and any vegetative blockages in the canal in order to raise the gates with a chain and pulley.
One stumbling block would be the 25% county match required to help fund the cost of the project, which is estimated at close to $1 million.
That match amount is prohibitive to financially constrained counties like Bradford for projects this size. But Witt offered hope, saying the state has set aside funding so those counties can request a waiver for the match. If Bradford submits a fundable project, it could receive full funding to cover the cost.
That had him even more excited for the project to automate the box culvert structure, sometimes called Three Pipes. When water levels meet the threshold set by the water management district, the county will have a much easier and faster response to open the gates and release water to mitigate flooding at the lakes and upstream.
“Obviously, the quicker we can get those gates open when we meet those levels, the better we can manage those water levels and help to prevent flooding on that lake,” Witt said.
“Upgrading these to a powered system will not only improve the efficiency of the gates, but also the effectiveness of our flood control measures,” he said. “Our aim is to provide a more consistent and timely response to changing water levels. So once those levels are met, if that’s in the middle of the night, if that’s over the weekend, we’re able to get those opened and let that water start draining out a lot quicker.”
Witt asked for and received the board’s blessing to apply for the grant and waiver.
Without the waiver for the matching funds — close to $250,000 — Witt said the grant application is something the county could probably never consider. Because it is possible, they have hope.
