Stop the flooding – we can make it happen faster.

St. Pete’s $5 Billion Sewer & Stormwater Plan: What You Need to Know

I recently sat down with St. Petersburg city officials Tom Greene (Assistant City Manager) and Claude Tankersley (Public Works Administrator) to get the full picture of the city’s massive $5 billion sewer and stormwater improvement plan. This discussion stemmed from the “Discussion of Known Capital Improvement Need 30-Year Forecast” report presented to the city’s Services and Infrastructure Committee back in April 2024.  Scroll  down in the Meeting Agenda to see the report. 

Here’s what you need to know:

🔹 $3.4 billion is needed for water, sewer, and reclaimed water system improvements.
🔹 $1.6 billion is needed for stormwater upgrades to combat flooding.
🔹 Total cost? $5 billion.

Key Takeaways from My Meeting

• Would This Have Prevented Last Year’s Flooding?  Not entirely—but these upgrades would have reduced many of the problems caused by recent hurricanes.

• Your Utility Bill is Going Up.  Expect 7.5% annual increases for stormwater, water, sewer, and reclaimed water rates.

• A 30-Year Timeline. This plan stretches across three decades, but residents are feeling the impact of storms right now.

• Why So Slow? The city is trying to avoid raising taxes or dramatically increasing utility costs.

• Could a Windfall Speed This Up? Yes—but even with extra money, progress is bottlenecked by supply chain issues and labor shortages in hurricane-affected areas.

Where Could the Money Come From?

One possible source? The Rays deal.

The city is committing $1.6 billion—that’s $6,000 per resident—to keep the Rays in town. (Get the full details.) 

But the Rays themselves have said the deal no longer works.

So what if we walked away and put some of that money into flood prevention instead?  Isn’t it  time to move on?

The bottom line: We need to prioritize our homes, our streets, and our future over a stadium deal that may not even happen.

I’ll keep digging into this issue—stay tuned!