TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — Some folks who live near Sunset Beach said they're frustrated about their flood-prone area and they've been telling the city for years. Wednesday, the city organized a meeting with neighbors.
Neighbors took to the streets of East Bay Drive and 85th Avenue with dozens of questions for the city about the stormwater system.
Neighbors said on a day like today when it's sunny and not raining, they could still see flooding. Wally Vidal said it all depends on high tides and rough winds.
He said his street flooded a couple of weeks ago after a short rainfall.
“It was accompanied with 20- to 30-mile-an-hour winds and therefore it pushed more water. In addition to what came up the drain from just normal tide, we had that extra water and the whole street was covered,” Vidal explained.
Vidal said his home is elevated but his guest house is not.
"We've had water in the garage in this house and we've had about 2-3 inches of water in the back. You prepare the best you can but it's kind of hard to stop it,” Vidal said.
Jeffrey Agrall with the city said this is the lowest part of the island and showed residents its process for inspecting and cleaning the stormwater system. He said cleaning the stormwater drains keeps them pretty busy.
“There's even kids toys we've found and even rugs,” Agrall said.
The city said the sea level is just going to continue to rise and a more permanent fix will be actually elevating the city.
“We do need to start elevating the island, raising seawalls and then we could start raising storm drains,” Agrall said.
“These were built back then where they were perfectly adequate, but now they're a highway for the water to come back in now that they're higher,” Vidal said.
The city has been discussing its plan to elevate the city since last December. Right now, the local planning agency board is reviewing the terrain modification manual.
The city will host an informational meeting at city hall to discuss its Elevate T.I. plan. The city commission will start reviewing this plan to begin this Summer.