It is time to discover our newest hidden treasure. The City of Tampa will be cutting the ribbon Tuesday, Nov. 12 on the 48-acre MacDill 48 Park, a stunning property that serves three major roles: It helps alleviate flooding by storing stormwater runoff, it improves water quality within Hillsborough Bay by treating stormwater runoff and removing pollutants, and it provides a huge passive park with a walking trail and natural beauty at every turn.

The stormwater pond in the middle of the park will allow the City to maximize flood relief within the the southeast portion of the Lower Peninsula Watershed, which includes most of the area south of El Prado Boulevard. The project also includes more than 12,000 linear feet of box culverts, pipes, and drainage inlets. Green infrastructure has been added to reduce the discharge of nutrients, oils, sediments, and floating debris into Hillsborough Bay. This is an ideal of the type of stormwater infrastructure that could provide significant benefits in flood-prone parts of the City.

The park is part of the Lower Peninsula Stormwater Improvements project.