Port St. Lucie is moving forward with two major infrastructure projects at Hogpen Slough near Walton Road that are intended to improve water quality and reduce flood risk.
The first project is a stormwater treatment area, which will help clean runoff from areas including Savannas Preserve State Park. According to the city, the project is intended to address existing conditions that limit the area's ability to treat and move stormwater.
"Currently, there's an overgrowth of invasive plants in the area, which makes it harder to move stormwater efficiently. And with lack of treatment areas there, stormwater runoff may not be treated as effectively. So, this project would address that by cleaning up the invasive plants and creating stormwater treatment areas where water from Hogpen Slough could be diverted into and then treated," Communications Manager Scott Samples said.
In addition to filtering nutrients from stormwater, the treatment area is expected to provide flood mitigation benefits. The city is also planning a second project nearby to modernize aging infrastructure.
"There will also be a replacement of an aging water control structure that's located south of Village Green and east of US 1. This will not only help manage water flow more efficiently and effectively, it will also incorporate new technology that can help staff remotely manage water levels by controlling pumps in the gates. This can have a significant benefit in flood prevention," Samples said.
City officials selected Hogpen Slough after reviewing microbial studies that identified the area as a location where stormwater improvements could help address water quality concerns while also reducing flood risk.
"And one of the areas they looked at was Hogpen Slough, and one of the recommendations that came from that was creating a stormwater treatment area to help improve the water quality. So, as we look both at areas where we can help to impact water quality, but also to mitigate some flood risk, this was a place that we felt would be a good candidate for that," Samples said.
The stormwater treatment area is expected to cost about $3 million, while the new water control structure is estimated at $1 million. Both projects are at least partially funded through grants.
Design work on both projects is nearing completion, but construction timelines differ. The city is still working to secure funding before construction can begin on the stormwater treatment area.
"The final design for the stormwater treatment area is about 90% complete, and that design for the completed by around September 2026. Funding is still pending for construction, which includes going out for grant applications, looking at the half-cent sales tax funding. And so, you know, while the design will be complete in September 2026, once we understand funding source, then we'll begin to think about a construction timeframe," Samples said.
He said the water control structure is also about 90% through the design phase.
"Then for the water control structure, design is about 90% complete. Construction is anticipated to start once the rainy season is over, and the estimated completion time for that is December of 2027," Samples said.