The Polk County Commission voted unanimously Aug. 16 to use $4.2 million in American Rescue Plan funds approved by Congress and the Biden Administration to purchase two parcels totaling 255 acres that will be used to create wetlands treatment areas.
One parcel will be located on the west side of Lake Hamilton in the Winter Haven suburbs. It will involve diverting water from the Peace Creek Canal into a wetlands treatment area that will be constructed later. Lake Hamilton lies at the headwaters of the Peace Creek, a World War I-vintage drainage canal that flows to the Peace River on the outskirts of Bartow.
The other parcel will be located in low-lying land northwest of Lake Annie near Dundee and will treat water flowing through the lake’s watershed. Lake Annie is the focus of a restoration project being undertaken by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.