TAMPA, Fla. — The city of Tampa has ramped up efforts to clear storm drains and regrade drainage ditches across the city, after last year’s historic hurricane season.

Heavy rainfall in advance of hurricanes Helen and Milton added challenges to the city’s storm water system.

Both storms led to flooding, with coastal flooding occurring during Helene and street-level flooding in pockets of Tampa, where flooding is rare.

This week in South Tampa, workers were using a three-cubic yard vacuum truck to clear out sludge and debris from storm drains, and digging out a drainage ditch to increase its capacity during heavy rainfall.

“We pull about 20 tons a week out of our systems,” said Mobility Department Manager Bryan Rodger.

In addition to the hard work of cleaning out Tampa’s stormwater system, Mobility Department Director Vic Bhide says the city is working to get backup generators installed at all of the city’s 14 pumping stations, eventually installing permanent generators.

All pump stations should have generators installed by June 1, the start of hurricane season.

“We will modernize water level indicators and other kinds of sensors and also add a more advanced communication system so we know exactly what is going on and can control these systems remotely,” Bhide said.

New technology will also be complemented by an extra stormwater emergency crew that will ride out storms, and be prepared to respond to any issues during and after storms, speeding recovery efforts across the city.

The city of Tampa will host a virtual town hall on April 16 at 6 p.m. to tell residents about stormwater improvements, and also address any concerns from residents.