Mayor Dean Trantalis told attendees at the 2025 State of the City address that Fort Lauderdale is investing in a citywide resiliency program — Fortify Lauderdale — that will invest more than $1,600,000,000 in underground infrastructure to reduce flooding and modernize stormwater and sewer systems.
The mayor said the work includes large‑scale pipe replacement, new pump stations and expanded inspection and maintenance programs. "When the first and second phases are complete, we'll have invested more than $1,600,000,000 into our underground infrastructure," Trantalis said.
Nut graf: City officials described the plan as a citywide sequencing of projects intended to reduce flood risk, lower insurance costs and strengthen neighborhoods previously damaged by the April 2023 floods.
Trantalis outlined neighborhood‑level work completed and underway. In the Doors neighborhood he said crews installed extensive new stormwater pipe, hundreds of drainage structures and rebuilt swales; in Dorsey River Bend he said the work includes pipe, drainage structures and a new pump station; in Edgewood and River Oaks he said crews added hundreds of drainage structures, tens of thousands of feet of pipe, and three new pump stations. He said similar projects are planned for Victoria Park, Melrose Manors and Riverland next year.
The mayor said infrastructure investments will support an additional FEMA benefit: applying for a roughly 10 percent additional discount on flood insurance premiums for residents. He also said the city will sequence work across 17 neighborhoods in a conceptual design phase and add equipment and staff, including more jet vac trucks and a robust inspection program.
Trantalis characterized the work as preventive and direct: "You don't see it every day, but you rely on it every hour," he said.
The address also mentioned $88,000,000 in federal disaster recovery funds the mayor said have been secured to repair homes, mitigate flood risk and help rebuild infrastructure, including work on the new city hall damaged in the 2023 floods.
Ending: The mayor positioned the investments as part of a long‑term shift from reaction to resilience; officials said sequencing and maintenance will be central to ensuring the projects deliver lower flood risk across neighborhoods.