Lakes have poor water quality

The county may install a filtration system to clean up overflow water from three lakes before pumping it into Lake Carroll.

By TIM GRANT

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

CARROLLWOOD -- Homeowners who were leery of a county project that would pump floodwater from three small lakes into Lake Carroll had their suspicions confirmed this week. County stormwater engineers reported that the three lakes do have lower water quality.

Now the county has proposed a filtration system that will cleanse any water that is pumped into Lake Carroll from the three lakes in Forest Hills, which tend to flood after heavy rains.

A public meeting with residents in Original Carrollwood will be held in August to discuss the results of the water quality studies that were done on lakes Jennette, Dorothy and Fleur de Lis.

After hearing the county's presentation, residents will decide either to reject the $500,000 project or move forward with construction of a pumping system that could reduce flooding in the three lakes and contamination of Lake Carroll.

"It is possible that if we oppose it, it could kill the project," said Mark Snellgrove of Original Carrollwood. "I think the county is trying to prevent the worse of two evils because if it floods and septic tanks overflow, we are going to get it anyway."

Officials have said if Carrollwood residents reject this proposal, the $500,000 will be used for a community improvement project elsewhere in the county.

While there is no immediate threat of a flood, in past years, overflow from the three lakes has washed motor oil, pesticides and septic waste into Lake Carroll. The lake pumping system would activate only when the water level rose 2-feet above its seasonal high.

At 216 acres, Lake Carroll is significantly larger than the other three lakes, which are two-to six-acres each. Engineers say only a small amount of water will be pumped over a long period of time and with the filtration system, water quality in Lake Carroll will not be affected.

"We will bring the quality of those three lakes equal to or above the quality of Lake Carroll," said Bernardo Garcia, director of Hillsborough County public works.

Garcia said the lake cleansing will remove silt from the bottom of the three small lakes. Other pollutants will be coagulated so that they will settle on the lake bottoms and also be collected.

Garcia said the current drought has been good and bad for the lakes that were studied. The water quality is worse because there is less water. However, the lower levels will make those lakes easier to clean.

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