The City of St. Petersburg is set to begin dredging Bartlett Lake next week as the first phase of a $30 million stormwater improvement project aimed at reducing flooding on the city’s southside.

Workers will remove between one and six feet of accumulated silt from the lake bottom to improve water flow. The buildup has slowed stormwater that is meant to flow east and drain into Tampa Bay. The broader project also includes widening a portion of Salt Creek just south of Bartlett Lake, installing a new tidal gate near Fourth Street, and constructing a new pump station on nearly three acres of vacant land the city purchased last year for $2.5 million.

City Engineering and Capital Improvements Director Brejesh Prayman said moving the flow control structure from Lake Maggiore to near Fourth Street is intended to address the severe flooding the area experienced during the 2024 hurricane season, when Hurricanes Helene and Milton inundated nearby neighborhoods. Council member Gina Driscoll, who proposed the land purchase, said many residents lost most of their belongings in those storms.

The dredging is expected to be complete in early 2027, with pump station construction beginning in the fall and finishing in 2028. The city plans to hold a community meeting next month to gather public input before finalizing the pump station design.

State and federal grants will cover nearly half the project’s cost. The work is part of Mayor Kenneth Welch’s SPAR (St. Pete Agile Resilience) Plan, which was developed in response to the 2024 storms. Officials noted the project had been in development for several years but was delayed by permitting requirements, environmental studies, and silt testing.

Follow the St. Pete-Clearwater Sun on Facebook, Google, & X

St. Pete-Clearwater Sun: local St. Pete-Clearwater news at PIE-Sun.com