TAMPA, Fla. — Near the University of South Florida, there’s history in the water.
Black history.
And a group from the University of South Florida is diving right in to save it.
“On the map, it’s called Aarans Pond,” said USF Anthropology Professor Christian Wells. “I’ve learned without an apostrophe.”
Aarans Pond, located off of Fletcher Avenue near 15th Street, was created more than 50 years ago to deal with flooding in the University area. Stormwater ponds were a common fix for low-lying communities.
“The whole University area community is like a big dip on the map,” Wells said.
Wells teaches an environmental justice course at USF. He said through redlining, Black people were relocated into flood-prone areas like the University community. No one wanted to live there.
“These areas were considered less desirable because they had lower elevation and more prone to flooding,” Wells said.
In Tampa, Wells said the greatest concentration of ponds are in the historically Black communities of East Tampa and the University area.
The stormwater ponds became part of their everyday lives.
“They were essentially used as parks, people came to picnic by them,” Wells said. “We even have some historical record that says baptisms took place in the stormwater pond.”
Then, industries moved into the area. And so did pollution.
“A lot of the chemicals and heavy metals that find their way into these stormwater ponds turn out to be really bad for people’s health, not just because they’re nearby and can come into contact with it,” Wells said. “But because a lot of people fish in these ponds.”
Ross Fabian and his parents were one of many African American families who were relocated to the University area through the public housing programs. By the time Fabian moved there in the 1980s, he said the stormwater ponds were “go at your own risk.”
“People used to come out here and fish, and I was surprised people used to come out here and fish,” Fabian said.
Fabian eventually moved near Aarans Pond. Over the years, the place had become a dumping ground. The storm drains were clogged with litter. And the water was contaminated.
A team of environmental scientists and engineers at USF have spent the last several months taking in all the history. They’re using what they’ve learned to find a solution to the contaminated water.
“If we know that these problems exist, and we know that people are being impacted by it, there’s no reason it should continue to happen,” Wells said.
Recently, the USF engineers added floating wetlands to the water as part of a pilot program to improve water quality.
“There are bacteria going on the roots of the plant,” said USF environmental engineer Sarina Ergas. “Those are good bacteria. The bacteria can transform nitrogen into less harmful forms that can go out into the atmosphere.”
USF engineers have also spent the last year collecting water samples at Aarans Pond.
“When I initially came here, this was somewhere I didn’t enjoy coming every week. It smelled very bad,” said USF graduate student Tione Grant.
But with all the work underway, Grant said the recent results from the water samples are promising.
“It’s a lot cleaner. A lot of the trash is gone,” Grant said.
Fabian is also pleased with the progress.
“This is a blessing for all of us,” Fabian said.
He has high hopes for Aarans Pond.
And while there is a contaminated history in the water, the USF team is also excited to see what the future will bring.
