Refurbished Taylor Creek Reservoir structure provides flood protection, water supply benefits

PALM BAY, Fla., Dec. 14, 2016 — The St. Johns River Water Management District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection celebrated the rehabilitation of a water control structure at Taylor Creek Reservoir that provides flood protection and water supply benefits to Brevard and Osceola counties.

“The S-164 water control structure is integral to maintaining water levels in Taylor Creek Reservoir necessary to prevent flooding while protecting the reservoir as a water supply source,” said St. Johns River Water Management District Executive Director Dr. Ann Shortelle. “Refurbishing this structure ensures that we are meeting federal flood control standards established by our partner, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”

Constructed in the 1960s, Taylor Creek Reservoir was part of the original federal Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project and was designed to capture and hold upland stormwater before it reached the river to reduce flood stages in the Lake Poinsett area of the St. Johns River. Today, the reservoir provides drinking water to the city of Cocoa and its customers, and provides irrigation water to the sprawling Deseret Ranches of Florida.