Golden Gate Estates, FL
- The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) installed a pump that will aid in the ongoing efforts to alleviate flooding caused by Hurricane Irma in the Big Cypress Basin (BCB).
The 30-inch pump has been installed and will move water near Golden Gate Weir #2 which is located just west of Interstate 75 in the Golden
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Click on map to see a larger version showing the location of a crucial temporary pump installed in the Big Cypress Basin. |
Gate Estates area of Collier County. This pump will lower water levels at a location near the intersection of the main Golden Gate Canal and Interstate 75 Canal.
This temporary pump, which SFWMD acquired with the help of Florida's state Emergency Operations Center, will move approximately 100 cubic feet per second of additional water out to tide to help lower the water levels faster in those two critical canals.
"Having this pump ready is
imperative to moving the high waters that have inundated the Big Cypress Basin following the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma," said
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The 30-inch centrifugal pump installed at Golden Gate Weir #2 weighs 35,000 pounds. Click on the image to see a larger version. |
Big Cypress Basin Chairman Rick Barber. "This is just one of the District's many ongoing post-storm efforts, such as running the previously installed pumps at the Cocohatchee structure. These and other pumps will help to alleviate the impacts and duration of flooding in Bonita Springs."
Districtwide, South Florida received more than 8 inches of rain over two days from Hurricane Irma. Parts of Big Cypress Basin received more than 12 inches of rain from the storm. Water levels throughout canals in the BCB system have mostly recovered from Hurricane Irma due to the District's round-the-clock pumping operations, though some segments remain vulnerable due to high groundwater levels. The District has already installed other temporary pumps throughout the BCB that are increasing the capacity to move Hurricane Irma's floodwaters. As recently as today, the District is installing two temporary pumps at Bonita Beach Road in an effort to establish a discharge route into the Cocohatchee Canal.
