Pinehurst residents demand urgent action after repeated flooding; board asks engineer for written plan

Resident Mike Dugan told the River Ridge Community Development District on June 25 that Pinehurst residents are “galvanized in one voice” over repeated flooding and urged the board to make resolving Pinehurst flooding its top priority, saying residents ‘‘will be forced to explore legal options’’ if action is not taken.

Resident Ed Nowak followed with a prepared statement describing flooding since Hurricane Irma and asserting that a redesigned system shifted problems from the Masters to Pinehurst. “The bottom line is the current redesigned system as far as we can see is flawed and unacceptable,” Nowak said, and he demanded ‘‘a final, proper redesign’’ with high priority and resources during hurricane season.

District Engineer Charlie Krebs, who inspected Pinehurst after the June storm, described on-site findings and the work MRI completed to clear debris. Krebs said crews found leaves on grates and material that could be flushed from pipes and that some Pinehurst drains may be more than 25% blocked and need cleaning. He said MRI removed debris from grates and flushed pipes toward the outfall.

Chair Bob Schultz asked Krebs to prepare a written plan outlining how the Pinehurst issues will be resolved, including an estimated timeline, and to provide that plan to the board, district staff and the Pinehurst neighborhood representative.

The exchange ended with the board directing the engineer to present a remediation plan; no formal funding decision for a redesign was made at the meeting. District staff and engineers said they would continue inspections and cleaning and return with specifics and schedule in a future meeting.