Resident tells council repeated road 'build up' is worsening flooding; public works says culvert cleared

Jeff Geiger, who lives at 5222 16th Street, told the Zephyrhills City Council that drainage problems near 16th and 3rd Streets have worsened over time and that repeated road work has pushed water onto private property. Geiger said an adjacent vacant lot may be raised for development and that would 'flood us out completely.'

Public Works Director Shane LeBlanc responded that staff performed a site investigation, identified a plugged culvert on nearby 17th Street and removed the blockage. LeBlanc said the site has drainage swales and that clearing the culvert may relieve some of the local pooling. City staff and the manager noted the area experienced an intense rainfall event — 4.5 inches in roughly an hour and a half — and said no stormwater system is designed to handle that magnitude concentrated in a short period.

Council members acknowledged longstanding drainage issues in older parts of town and asked public works to continue inspections, emphasize clearing blocked culverts and keep the resident apprised. Staff said they had already reached out to Pasco County Emergency Management for assistance in particularly deep locations and that some measures (unclogging culverts, verifying swales) are immediate fixes while larger infrastructure work would need design and funding in capital plans.

What council said it will do next: staff will follow up with Mr. Geiger on site-specific remedies and provide an update at future meetings or directly to affected residents. Council also noted that sidewalks and pavement elevation changes can retain water on site but emphasized the primary need is moving water away from low-lying properties.