ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It’s a simple step, but taking a few minutes to clear your storm drain can help minimize flooding around your home ahead of Hurricane Dorian.
"We're preparing for this as if it were going to be a direct hit,” said St. Petersburg Water Resources Director John Palenchar.
Stormwater Director Dianna Rawleigh says the city already has street crews out clearing drains and picking up debris, and urges residents to do the same.
"The newspapers that you get, the free ones that show up in your driveway--A lot of people walk past those and don't think much about them,” she said. “Maybe they have something on their mind and they don't pick it up. That floats, lands on the grates, settles down on it. Leaves get behind it, lids sometimes get stuck. If you see that before the rain comes, when it's safe, pick it up if you can. If not, call us."
Mayor Kriseman Tweeted Wednesday morning taking action now could prevent disasters like the overflows that dumped millions of gallons of sewage into the bay a few years back.
"The pipes are leaky. It's an old system,” said Palenchar. “We're replacing it as rapidly as we can get contractors."
The city has also increased capacity by more than 50 million gallons at its wastewater treatment plants, and has new technology to monitor what's happening underground.
"We have over 80 sensors out in our system that are providing us real-time information on what the water levels are, and they send out text messages to our crews to alert them if those water levels rise at a rapid rate,” said Palenchar. "The vacation that everybody is going to be enjoying for this weekend is not going to be one that we're going to be enjoying. We're going to be here dedicated to keeping the city of St. Petersburg safe."
Emerald Morrow is a reporter with 10News WTSP. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@wtsp.com.
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