City officials are hoping a new pump station planned for the Hollywood Beach Golf and Country Club will relieve downtown flooding during heavy rain and bring residents a new golf course.
The new pump station would draw water from flood-prone areas in the city into collection ponds on the golf course. The water would move through a series of more than a dozen ponds, where organic materials would help remove potential pollutants from it before it is sent to North Lake, said George Jaskulsky, the city's manager of engineering support services.
City commissioners recently approved a contract with engineering firm Post, Buckley, Schuh and Jernigan for design work at the golf course, for up to $275,530. Construction of the pump station could start in the spring and conclude by December 2005.
The cost for the total project depends on whether the final design includes relocating or rebuilding structures on the golf course. Leaving the buildings as is, the cost is estimated to be about $8 million, said Jack Mathison, assistant director for the city's parks department. Reconstructing buildings could add several million dollars to that figure, he said.
"Right now, we're relying on gravity to move water out to the Intracoastal. During times of high tide, you're fighting against that water and it doesn't move out," Jaskulsky said. "We'd like to pump it out instead of relying on gravity."
Federal Highway, Dixie Highway and other downtown streets are prone to flooding during heavy rains. All the streets downtown are connected to a pipe that draws water off the streets, Jaskulsky said.
"When the tides are high, there already is a lot of standing water in that pipe and you have longer durations of standing water on the streets," he said.
The project would remove the course's existing pumping station, which pumps water only from the course and neighboring streets, and replace it with a system with greater capacity.
The plan also calls for having between 14 and 20 acres of collection ponds on the course, which now has only 3 to 4 acres of ponds.
"It would significantly change the characteristics of the golf course," Jaskulsky said.
While the work is being done, the course would be closed, he added.
"But afterward, the city has an improved course with new grass, a new irrigation system and an interesting course to play on," Jaskulsky said. "The residents get less flooding and the golfers get to play on a new course."
Dave Lottes, vice president of the semi-private course, is hoping the construction project has minimal impact on the golfing season. Lottes said adding that much more water to the course will take some fairway and rough out of the course.
The pump station work will tie in with an overall redesign of the 110-acre course. City commissioners in April agreed to spend $275,000 for redesign.
Design plans call for increasing the golf course elevation to prevent the course from flooding, redesigning it to make it more competitive with other courses and adding a driving range.
"If it's designed properly, the golf facility will be better," Lottes said. "Design is paramount."
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
