Dredging Through Murky Details Found Good Canal-Cleaning Plan
Published: Oct 24, 2007
Tampa Tribune Editor’s Opinion
Tampa City Council members will get their first look Thursday at a sensible compromise for homeowners with backyard canals so clogged that boats can't get through.
If the affected homeowners agree, the council should support the solution.
The problem: 13 canals in West Shore neighborhoods and two in Davis Islands are filled with silt, much of it from stormwater runoff.
Many, but not all, of the roughly 500 landowners along the canals want them cleaned, but dredging would cost about $6 million. Complicating the matter is that the city has no legal responsibility for the canals. Many were dug before the neighborhoods became part of the city.
Officials long have wrestled with funding a benefit that affects a limited number of landowners, while also trying to determine a reasonable contribution from affected homeowners.
Given the cost and variables, it's easy to see why the project has stalled for years.
But Tampa Stormwater Director Charles Walter and his team have worked with citizens to develop a workable strategy that distributes costs fairly.
The city would use a $1.3 million federal grant and a $1 million city matching grant to partially fund the canal dredging. The rest would come from an $8,000 assessment on homes whose owners would directly benefit.
Some people argue that the federal money should be used to restore natural areas of Tampa Bay, not residential canals. But Walter says that removing the muck will help clean the bay and that the grant specifically allows canal clean-up. The federal and city money will be used solely to remove silt and debris from systems that discharge into the bay, while the homeowners' money will be used strictly to make the waterways navigable.
Walter says the city has some responsibility to clean canals since stormwater runoff pollutes these waterways. As a result, the city proposes dredging a channel 20 feet wide and 3 feet deep down each canal. Homeowners would pay extra to dredge around their docks.
To keep the canals open, homeowners also would pay an estimated $50 to $75 annual maintenance fee.
While the $8,000 assessment will give some homeowners pause, it is entirely justified. They would have the option of paying the assessment in a lump sum, or over 20 years with interest, or accept a lien that gets paid off when the property is sold.
To make the compromise work, a majority of affected homeowners must support it. City officials are notifying all affected residents and tabulating responses. Thursday's public hearing will provide another chance for council members to gauge public sentiment.
If homeowners are on board, council members should applaud and approve the canal cleanup compromise because it represents a smart partnership between the city and homeowners, one that should save money, help Tampa Bay and improve the quality of life in many neighborhoods.