Tampa City Council delays funding vote for the South Howard flood relief project

TAMPA, Fla. - The debate over Tampa’s controversial South Howard Flood Relief Project deepened Thursday, as City Council voted to delay a key funding decision amid growing questions about cost, scope, and economic impact.

What we know:

The proposal before council would have authorized $4.1 million in design-build services, replacing aging water mains and sewer lines, some more than 100 years old, as part of early work on the $65 million flood relief project.

The South Howard Flood Relief Project aims to reduce chronic flooding in one of Tampa’s most flood-prone areas by rebuilding drainage systems with pipes up to five times larger than the current infrastructure and installing high-capacity box culverts along South Howard Avenue.

But council members voted to delay the measure, citin