Overview
The Cooling Pond Soil Cement Replacement Project at the Florida Power and Light (FPL) Manatee Plant, located outside of Tampa, Florida, will extend the lifespan of the existing cooling pond and provide additional protection against severe tropical storms and hurricanes. The cooling pond is a key component of the power plant as it circulates and feeds cooling water to the plant’s intake structures.

Scope of Work
Ballard Marine Construction was awarded the $65M Design-Build Contract in the Fall of 2016 and executed the Purchase Order with FPL in February of 2017 to construct 10,000 lineal feet of soil cement protection system on the west side of the pond dike.

Innovative Solutions
The soil cement protection system, including 10,000 lineal feet of soil cement protection system on the west side of the pond dike, is unique, consisting of 6” thick precast panels placed on the face of the dike and acting as the outer face of the protection system, protecting the soil cement against wind and wave action encountered during storms. The precast panel sits more than 12” off the face of the soil cement. The 12” interstitial space between the face of the soil cement and underside of precast panel was filled with over 21,000 cubic yards of lightweight cellular concrete fill that had to be placed with precision lifts and extensive quality control to prevent washout and panel lifting.

Results
The improvements provided by Ballard Marine Construction extended the lifespan of the cooling pond and provide additional protection against severe storms.