Fort Lauderdale got just under 2 inches of rain during the day Monday and the city is preparing for even heavier downpours.
New infrastructure, lingering doubts
The city has spent $10.5 million to install a new pump station. Residents are glad it’s in place, but many say they won’t believe it works until it’s tested during a storm.
Beverly Freeman says severe flooding prep has become a seasonal chore. “They’re all like 50 pounds each now,” Freeman said about the sandbags. She’s learned to surround her home with them after flooding in June of last year and April of the year before.
She says she’s had to put up tens of thousands of dollars to fix flood damage at her home in the River Oaks neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale. “This never used to happen. Now it does. I’m hoping,” Freeman said.
But this flood season, Fort Lauderdale finished building a new pump station. The city unveiled it in December and said it was completed ahead of schedule. Freeman says she’s done with the constant cleanup. “I can’t do it again,” she said.
Neighborhoods on edge
A Fort Lauderdale city official says the pumps can also serve the Edgewood neighborhood, which has also become a flood zone. Kitty McGowan, who lives there and is president of the Edgewood Civic Association, says residents are losing patience.
“A lot of people are done. If you drive around this neighborhood there’s a ton of for sale signs,” McGowan said.
McGowan and Freeman appreciate the new infrastructure, but still want to see it work. “We don’t know. We’ll see,” McGowan said. “If this happens to me again I’m outta here,” Freeman added.
City invests in stormwater upgrades
A Fort Lauderdale city spokesperson says the city has spent more than $50 million in total improving stormwater systems in Edgewood and River Oaks. The new systems, the city says, are designed to manage up to 7–10 inches of stormwater in a day.
