Pinehurst residents demand action after repeated flooding; River Ridge engineers point to blockages

Resident Mike Dugan and resident Ed Nowak told the River Ridge Community Development District Board of Supervisors on June 25 that repeated flooding in the Pinehurst neighborhood reached a new level of urgency after storms on June 12–14 left some streets impassable and standing water for days.

"Short of a quick absolute commitment from River Ridge that Pinehurst flooding is now a #1 or co-#1 priority, regardless of cost, we will be forced to explore legal options," Mike Dugan said, reading from a prepared statement and urging continuous updates and dedicated resources. Ed Nowak, also reading a prepared statement, said, "The bottom line is the current redesigned system as far as we can see is flawed and unacceptable," and asked for a final redesign and expedited action during hurricane season.

District Engineer Charlie Krebs said he inspected Pinehurst after videos were provided by Eric Long, found leaves and debris on grates and inside pipes, had MRI inspect and clean inlets and outfalls, and said debris had been flushed and that some drains may have blockages exceeding roughly 25 percent. Krebs described on-site conditions, explained the path of three control structures toward the wetlands, and said crews removed grate debris and flushed pipes during the inspection.

After the engineer's update, Chair Bob Schultz asked Mr. Krebs to prepare a written plan and an estimated timeline describing how the district will resolve the Pinehurst drainage problems and to provide that plan to the Board, to Eric Long, and to the Pinehurst neighborhood representative (NVR). The board did not adopt a new project at the meeting but signaled priority attention: staff will perform additional cleaning and follow up with a formal plan.

The residents told the board some Pinehurst households had offered financial support and warned they may take legal action if the district does not make an absolute commitment to addressing the problem. The engineer and staff described removal of surface debris and pipe flushing as immediate steps and identified additional inlet cleaning as a next operational action. The meeting minutes record no final design decision at this session; the board asked staff to return with a written remediation plan and timeline.

The board is scheduled to meet next on July 23, 2024, when the Lake & Dry Retention Audit Report will be included on the agenda and when any updated plan can be discussed further.