Restoring The Flow

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SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - Lake Roberta is in urban rescue mode.

Which means it's pretty much a mess where Idlewild Avenue meets Roberta Circle. Workers are digging trenches, laying pipes and installing a sediment trap to catch stormwater runoff and block debris and oil from settling to the lake's bed.

But the temporary mess is a relief to lakeside resident Amanda Swain, who watches during storms as the polluted lake, one block east of Nebraska Avenue, overflows and washes up to her front steps.

"I'm so glad they're finally doing something," Swain said.

She is among several neighbors at the lake's northeast segment where parts of Roberta Circle go under water, flooding yards and, in one case, a garage.

The city recently hired Kamminga & Roodvoets of Tampa to install stormwater pipes and the trap, a project that could take four months, stormwater director Chuck Walter said.

In addition, wetlands vegetation will be planted, some exotic plants removed and portions of the lake reshaped to improve circulation and water quality, he said.

The sediment trap is in addition to one installed in 2005 on the west side of the lake.

The project cost of about $316,000 will be shared by the city and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The money is part of about $840,000 set aside for an urban lake rescue project for Lake Roberta in Hampton Terrace, Lake Edna in Wellswood and Lake Kipling in South Tampa.

Roberta's cleanup has been talked about for more than 10 years. The lake has long been the crown jewel of Seminole Heights, drawing nature lovers, joggers and mothers with baby strollers.

In the 1880s, the spring-fed lake was a watering hole for cattle drives. Developers in the 1920s saw its value and built now-historical Hampton Terrace.

Longtime residents remember fish-a-thons in the late 1940s that drew hundreds fishing for bream and trout.

The state's road department in the 1930s installed a pipe to drain stormwater into the lake from Nebraska Avenue. Roberta became part of the city's retention pond system, and a steady diet of debris, oil, fertilizer runoff and exotic vegetation choked the life from the lake.

The city and residents' Save Lake Roberta Committee have been searching for solutions.

In June, representatives of Swiftmud and the Dyer, Riddle, Mills and Precourt engineering firm met with about 40 residents to discuss the lake's cleanup. Some residents wanted the city to dredge the sediment-filled lake but were told money was not available.

The smaller-scale project was adopted, but officials said additional work could be considered if funding becomes available.