Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Stormwater Drainage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Task force presses city for neighborhood-level stormwater design details, highlights Victoria Park concerns
Summary
Members urged staff to present a neighborhood-level design—Victoria Park was requested as the near-term example—so residents can see proposed drainage solutions and where stormwater will be directed. Task force emphasized stormwater, inflow and infiltration, and bond-funded capital work as ongoing priorities.
Members of the Infrastructure Task Force pressed city staff for more neighborhood-level clarity on the Fortify Fort Lauderdale stormwater program, saying residents need to see engineering solutions and where excess water will be discharged.
“We're monitoring the whole stormwater program,” task force chair said, and members asked staff to present the design materials they would show to HOAs. Omar Castellan, a city staff member, said the program is organized in tranches and that some neighborhoods are in design or construction while others await later phases. He confirmed that Victoria Park is in tranche 1 and that designs and public HOA meetings are part of the process.
Task force members described repeated flooding in parts of Victoria Park. “The places that flooded when I first moved into Victoria Park 14 years ago are still flooding,” one member said, asking why work has not yet abated chronic problems in some streets.
Members asked staff for an example presentation at the task force’s next meeting: one neighborhood that still floods (Victoria Park) and one completed neighborhood so the group could compare design choices and outcomes. The task force requested that the presentation show proposed engineering measures, a design stage (for example 30/60/90 percent), and where stormwater will be routed or pumped.
The group also discussed inflow and infiltration of groundwater into sewer lines and the ongoing lining program. “The way it's being addressed is by lining the pipes. And in fact, we are under a consent order again to get a certain amount of progress on that, lining of pipes,” a task force member said.
Task force members asked staff to bring back a neighborhood-level design and to explain the public outreach schedule, where residents can record problem locations for designers, and how triage of tranches will be prioritized by the City Commission.
Other utility items raised briefly included a small number of recent water-service breaks and a planned wastewater odor-control procurement that task force members said might come before the commission.
