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Engineer: stormwater system reached capacity in places after Tropical Storm Debbie; Premier Lakes reports maintenance and increased service
Summary
District engineer and Premier Lakes reported that some areas received almost 8 inches of rain during Tropical Storm Debbie, stressing systems designed for about 5½ inches; Premier Lakes said the lakes are in good shape and increased service frequency during the rainy season.
District engineer Charlie Krebs and Premier Lakes representative Bill Kurth updated the River Ridge board Aug. 27 on stormwater and lake maintenance following Tropical Storm Debbie.
Bill Kurth of Premier Lakes reported that "the lakes appear to be in very good shape," crews removed fallen trees from the Florida Power & Light ditch and outfall structure ahead of an approaching tropical storm, and Premier increased service frequency from quarterly to monthly during the rainy season. He also said repairs to a Lake H1‑B nano‑bubbler that lost prime would be completed the following day and that electrical proposals for relocating a compressor in Masters Lake will be presented with Operations Manager Shane Willis.
Engineer Charlie Krebs described storm impacts in low‑lying Club property and noted that parts of the community received "almost 8\" of rain in two or three days" while the roads were designed for about "5½\" of rain over a 24‑hour period." He said the Pinehurst valley gutter inlet grate replacement project by MRI is about 80% complete and that Lee County Utilities handles certain water‑line repairs. Krebs recommended considering a drainage connection to bypass pipes and inlets and send water directly to Lake E1‑A to relieve overloaded piping. He also said allowing fire trucks to draw lake water is atypical, risks pulling plants and fish, and would require South Florida Water Management District approval.
Resident concerns included a report of standing water potentially causing mold in a unit; Mr. Krebs said he does not believe that issue was correlated across other units and asked staff to put the item on the next agenda for further comment.
Why it matters: The assessment of system capacity and ongoing maintenance work affects flood mitigation, property conditions and future maintenance planning for the district.
Next steps: Staff will confirm asphalt patch scheduling for the MRI grate work, review past minutes regarding conservation area decisions and address resident photo submissions to evaluate vegetation/cleanup requests.
