ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A record-breaking rain event — that’s what the St. Pete Public Works Administrator says was the cause of major flooding Wednesday night.
He says the city's storm system isn’t built to withstand that much water. But those who have lived here a long time aren’t buying it. They believe it’s due to the new developments recently built nearby.
Neighbors in Edgemoor say they saw two to three feet of water in the street. They say it’s been the same story for the past couple of weeks, and they’re wondering if it might be because the storm drain here was clogged or if the city can be doing more to stop the water from staying put.
“It’s never been like this,” Joseph Stern said.
He saw streets inundated with water including those in the northeast neighborhood he’s called home for 20-plus years.
A spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department says 55 cars were stuck due to flooding, while 12 were abandoned Wednesday night between 6 p.m. and midnight. Officers also responded to 20 accidents and 73 community hazard calls like flooded intersections and stalled-out cars.
“I want answers from the city,” Stern said.
He wants to know why a summer storm is now leaving streets soaked and neighbors on edge.
“Why was it never a problem in the past?” Fred Coker asked.
Coker believes it could be from new developments in the area, leaving the water with no place to go.
“They are more busy getting people into St. Pete than fixing the problems in St. Pete,” Coker said.
“The rainfall last night was record-breaking,” St. Pete’s Public Works Administrator Claude Tankersley told reporters.
10 Investigates went to get answers to those viewers’ concerns. Tankersley said any developer is required to get a permit from Southwest Florida Water Management District and has to show that the rate of stormwater flow off of their property is the same after the development is finished as it was before the development.
“It should not have been contributing any more stormwater to this storm than it would have prior to this development coming in,” Tankersley said.
He says the flooding has nothing to do with new development, but the fact that their systems are built to handle seven and a half inches in 24 hours. He says some places saw almost five inches in just one hour.
“We have a brand-new stormwater master plan that we're implementing projects on as we speak,” Tankersley said. “What our goal is, and what the industry standard is, is to update those plans every 10 to 20 years. So therefore, I would anticipate that that plan will be updated again 10 years from now, and we are budgeting in our fiscal year ’25, we have identified projects in the next fiscal year that come directly out of that stormwater master plan.”
St. Petersburg City Council will have its first public hearing on that budget and millage rate on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 6 pm. Another one is set for Sept. 26.
Even with an updated master plan, Tankersley says no system would be able to handle that much water in an hour, and even if they could build one, it would cost the city billions of dollars.
“Jacksonville, Sarasota, Orlando, Tampa, cities and towns all over the United States, all over Florida, that are experiencing very unusual high-rate flows of rainfall events that are causing these flooding events,” Tankersley said.
He says people should consider building a little differently instead of having a slab on the soil.
“What do we do moving forward is building homes that are elevated we should go back to looking at buildings and homes with space underneath it," he said.
But neighbors say that’s not a solution.
“10 years for stormwater plan review is not acceptable,” Coker said. Why can’t you fix the problem on your end, so we don’t have to build up and go higher?"
The city council did ask Tankersley to give a presentation at today’s meeting about what the city is doing to figure out the flooding. The city has been out at storm drains making sure they are clear and monitoring the wastewater system.
“We've received over 500 requests to inspect stormwater facilities throughout the city, and so to the best of our ability, we're going out and inspecting them, and we're actually finding most of them-- well, 75% of them are free and clear with absolutely nothing in them at all, which, which, again, supports the idea that that is just the system is being overwhelmed. This isn't, this isn't due to a blockage of the system,” Tankersley said.
Many drivers noticed the flooding as they headed home on 4th Street North. FDOT told 10 Investigates:
“We had staff observe the flooding yesterday when it heavily rained in an hour span. 4th St and 38th Ave N did experience some flooding, and it extended onto 38th Ave N by approximately one block. Our maintenance teams reviewed the areas today and they did not find any blockage in the system. There were also no major issues with the steady rains during Hurricane Debby along 4th St., and the new medians were in place at that time. The heavy deluges we are getting over a short period of time are overloading the network and it takes longer to drain. We will continue to check all FDOT drainage systems and monitor these areas carefully.”
If you see problems, you can report the issues and even take photos and post them on See Click Fix.
If you have a complaint about 4th Street though, the city’s main artery, and the flooding on that roadway, you have to contact FDOT because that is a state road, and there’s nothing the city can do about it.