St. Petersburg crews are set to fire up dredging equipment at Bartlett Lake next week, the first visible move in a broader push to rein in chronic flooding on the city’s south side. Engineers plan to scoop out between 1 and 6 feet of built-up silt from the lakebed to restore stormwater flow and cut down on backups into nearby yards and streets. The project launches a multi-phase stormwater package city leaders have been assembling since the bruising 2024 storm season.
According to Bay News 9, the dredging is paired with a planned widening of a stretch of Salt Creek, a new tidal gate near Fourth Street and a pump station slated for a vacant parcel the city bought just north of Bartlett Lake. “This is such a major project for the community,” Engineering and Capital Improvements Director Brejesh Prayman told the outlet, adding that crews are aiming to boost both conveyance capacity and water quality. Councilmember Gina Driscoll pushed for the land purchase, and residents who lost belongings during recent storms say the work is long overdue.
Engineering scope and permits
City procurement records show the invitation for bids calls for removing roughly 22,806 cubic yards of muck to reach a design depth of about 5 feet below mean low water, with an allowable overdredge to 6 feet, according to GovTribe. The solicitation allows either mechanical or hydraulic dredging and requires on-site dewatering, sealed hauling of spoil and turbidity and manatee-protection measures while work is underway. Bid documents cap the contract period at 200 days and include Davis-Bacon wage rules and environmental compliance requirements for would-be contractors.
Paying for it
City council packets and resolutions lay out funding lines for the Bartlett Lake work and the broader Salt Creek pump-station project, and the council has already approved preconstruction appropriations for the design-build phase, per city council documents. The city has also secured roughly $3.5 million in state and federal grants to support the dredging and related work, helping to offset the bill for the multi-project effort, according to St. Pete Catalyst. Officials say that mix of grants, local capital and St. Pete Agile Resilience (SPAR) funding has meaningfully reduced the city’s out-of-pocket share and pushed the projects closer to full construction.
Timeline and what’s next
Prayman told Bay News 9 the dredging should wrap up early next year, with pump-station construction expected to start in the fall and run through around 2028. The dredge and pump station are key pieces of Mayor Kenneth Welch’s SPAR program, which city leaders say has helped accelerate projects in the wake of the 2024 storms. As designs progress, officials plan public outreach so nearby residents can weigh in on the pump-station layout and potential neighborhood impacts.
What it means for neighbors
Residents who endured the recent storms say the work offers real hope, but they also want clear commitments on long-term maintenance and a transparent timeline for actual relief. Local television coverage described homes in the area taking on deep water during the 2024 storms, with neighbors urging the city to move faster, according to ABC Action News. City council materials show the administration has pushed the Salt Creek pump-station into the design-build procurement phase, a sign that construction is now largely a question of timing, per city documents. Engineers warn that the full benefits will not arrive overnight, but officials say the combination of dredging and the new pump station should cut down how often floodwater creeps into streets and homes.
