Frenchtown Facility
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The Frenchtown Stormwater Facility is located in the Florida State University watershed of the Lake Munson Drainage Basin of southwest Tallahassee. The pond is surrounded by the Carter-Howell-Strong City Park, located about 2 blocks north of Tennessee Street and bounded to East and West by Copeland and Dewey Streets.
The facility is actually two ponds, a smaller pretreatment and sedimentation pond to the West, and a larger treatment pond, which together total about 5 Acres with 7.8 million gallons of floodwater storage. The pond provides both flood control and removal of pollutants from stormwater discharged downstream towards Lake Munson. In this pond many pollutants settle or are assimilated by microorganisms or by aquatic plants placed there in the shallows.
The pond and associated park are a pleasurable relaxation sight within the local neighborhood and serve as a refuge for many birds and other animals. In the past few years, street-runoff sediments and trash accumulated in it to such a degree that plants grew completely across the smaller pretreatment pond, and much of its effectiveness in storing and treating stormwater was reduced. Maintenance efforts which occurred during the spring of 1997 to remove choking sediments to restore the pond's effectiveness unfortunately removed most of its valuable plants. Plantings around stormwater ponds have the important benefits of helping to reduce stormwater pollutants and enhancing nearby property values. Plants provide food and shelter for widlife and provide a place for microorganisms to attach. Eventually, the emergent aquatic plants will grow back along the margins of both ponds.
The Frenchtown neighborhood has recently become the focus of neighborhood revitalization efforts by the City of Tallahassee. Problem areas are being redeveloped, building of neighborhood resources is being planned, helpful businesses and employers are looking for opportunities to develop there, and funding is being located and applied. The Frenchtown Stormwater Pond and Carter-Howell-Strong Park will become a visible centerpiece of this revival effort.
For more information about this facility, contact the Stormwater Management Division, 891-6860.