Design and Eng Services Carpenter Creek Hydrologic Restoration and Stormwater Improvements - DH018

Escambia County is seeking a qualified firm to provide planning assistance for the Carpenter Creek Hydrologic Restoration and Stormwater Improvements project. Planning assistance will include data collection, engineering & design services, environmental services, and project coordination. The firm will produce 30%, 60%, and 100% design plans, bid packages, and cost estimates. Final designs shall meet all applicable local, state, federal, and grant requirements. Design shall consider project objectives, regulatory and grant requirements, public input, and feasibility, including financial and site constraints.

The Carpenter Creek Hydrologic Restoration and Stormwater Improvements Project will consist of three designs: Robins Ridge Stream Floodplain Restoration, Coronet Drive retrofit stormwater filtering, and Cardinal Cove Stormwater Pond retrofit stormwater filtering. Once constructed, the Carpenter Creek Hydrologic Restoration and Stormwater Improvement project’s three designs will reduce downstream flow rates, expand and/or improve adjoining floodplains/wetlands, improve coastal flood protection, and improve overall water quality in the Carpenter Creek Bayou Texar Watershed and Pensacola Bay. Low-impact design and new technology Best Management Practices (BMP) should be utilized where appropriate.

The Carpenter Creek Hydrologic Restoration and Stormwater Improvements project will complete a suite of stream restoration and stormwater treatment projects intended to aid in the revitalization of the Carpenter Creek watershed. The project area is within the historic Carpenter Creek & Bayou Texar watershed, which empties into Pensacola Bay and has been threatened by the effects of overdevelopment. The purpose of the project is to improve water quality through the reduction of sediment loading, stream restoration, and wetland creation. Sites focused on this project were identified in the Carpenter Creek Watershed Master Plan (WMP). Driven by public engagement and a focus on community resiliency, the WMP (2022) used best available science to identify specific water quality and habitat issues in the Carpenter Creek/Bayou Texar watershed and propose actionable mitigation plans.

Carpenter Creek is currently impaired for E. coli; Bayou Texar is currently impaired for Enterococci bacteria. However, the TMDLs were originally developed when fecal coliform was still the indicator of choice. The Carpenter Creek Hydrologic Restoration and Stormwater Improvement project’s goals are to retrofit existing stormwater retention ponds and install additional stormwater infrastructure to support stormwater treatment, thereby improving water quality in the watershed. Restoration activities include floodplain restoration, filtering, and stormwater filtering media infrastructure. Funding for planning, design, and permitting has been secured through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment settlement with BP, resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Funding will be administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Division of Water Restoration Assistance.