Flood protection, hurricane information

With hurricane season and Florida’s wettest time of year in full swing, being proactive is essential to identify and correct potential flood problems before they occur. Long-term flood protection requires individuals and government at all levels to focus on planning, stormwater system design and maintenance, floodplain and wetland restoration, and problem drainage areas.

Who do I call if my home is experiencing flooding from a storm or natural disaster?

Local governments bear much of the responsibility when it comes to flood protection. They are the primary agencies responsible for state-of-emergency declarations, evacuations and rescue efforts during flood-related disasters. They also have the primary responsibility of ensuring that ditches and canals are adequate, clean and functioning properly.

Your local government is responsible for:

• Emergency responses during storms
• Land use planning
• Maintaining stormwater/drainage systems
• Implementing a master stormwater plan for solving flooding
• Implementing stormwater retrofit projects in older communities that were built prior to stormwater rules
• Adopting local laws that focus on building and road elevations, setbacks from waterbodies, fill limitations, sanitary codes and structures allowed in floodplains.

What is the St. Johns River Water Management District’s role in flood protection?

• Working with local governments and other agencies before, during and after a flood event.
• Operating and maintaining more than 100 major and minor water control structures, including 11 spillways, three navigational locks, approximately 300 miles of levees, and 30 pump stations.
• Restoring wetlands and floodplain areas that provide flood water storage.
• Ensuring, through its permitting program, that storm water is managed on development sites and that new drainage ditches or significant changes to existing ditches are coordinated regionally.
• Along with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, issuing permits to install stormwater systems (but it is often the responsibility of a developer or homeowners association to maintain the systems).
• Assisting local governments in emergency response during disasters, when called upon.

How do stormwater ponds help reduce flooding impacts?

Stormwater systems, like natural ponds or wetlands, help control flooding by slowing down surges and absorbing rainwater before it reaches water bodies. They also help filter out nutrients and sediments collected by storm water as it runs over the earth’s surface before pollutants can reach fragile waterways.

Who is responsible for maintaining my neighborhood stormwater pond?

Maintenance of private stormwater systems permitted by the district or the Florida Department of Environmental Protection may be the responsibility of a developer or homeowners association. You can find out by contacting your local Property Appraiser or visit the Property Appraiser website and find the parcel and its owner.

What can I do to reduce the effects of flooding at home?

• Report clogged culverts or slow-moving water in ditches to your local government to allow adequate time for maintenance or repairs before a storm.
• Report flooding to your local government.
• Keep grass clippings and other debris out of stormwater drainage systems to prevent clogging and loss of stormwater storage and treatment capacity.
• Clean out gutters and extend downspouts at least four feet from structures.
• Build up the ground around the home to promote drainage away from the foundation.

Also, potential homebuyers should investigate whether a prospective property — house or undeveloped land — is in a floodplain or flood-prone area. Although building codes and stormwater permits may require that a house be built above flood level, flooding can still be a threat to driveways, subdivision roads, septic tanks and common recreational areas.

Lakes and waterways naturally rise and fall depending on rainfall and other conditions. Homes and businesses in flood-prone areas can be retrofitted to minimize future flood damage. Retrofitting can include making a building watertight, elevating the building and utilities, or constructing barriers.

Can the district control water levels for flood relief?

While the district operates flood-control structures in the Upper Ocklawaha River Basin and restored St. Johns River headwaters marshes used for water storage, the district does not control water levels in the St. Johns River.

Does the Upper St. Johns River Basin (USJRB) Project provide flood protection in the region?

The USJRB Project at the river’s headwaters was planned to control flooding on the St. Johns River in Osceola, Brevard and Indian River counties following a devastating flood in the 1940s. The upper basin project has proven itself several times over the past two decades, recently protecting the region from flooding during hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Irma in 2017, as well as the historic and during unprecedented 2004 hurricane season.

Does the USJRB Project provide flood relief for central Florida and areas north?

The upper basin project does not reduce flooding in the river’s middle basin in east-central Florida, including Lake Monroe, or further north in the river’s lower basin in north Florida. This is because tributaries such as the Econlockhatchee River drain much more water to the middle St. Johns River than the amount that can be drained from the headwaters at C-54 canal. For example, flow out of the Econlockhatchee River has been measured at more than 10,000 cfs, and this is only one of several tributaries of the middle St. Johns River. Also, middle basin tributaries do not have comparable flood control facilities as are used in the upper basin. In north Florida (the lower basin), flooding in the Jacksonville area is often related to increased tidal flow from the Atlantic Ocean, added to copious rainfall.

Does Canal 54 (C-54) control flooding in the Upper St. Johns River Basin?

As part of the original upper basin project, C-54 discharged directly from the St. Johns River to the Indian River Lagoon. Now, C-54 is no longer directly connected to the St. Johns River, but instead serves only as an emergency overflow for the St. Johns Water Management Area to ensure that extreme flood events do not overtop the flood protection levees.

In recent years, was C-54 opened to reduce flooding in the district’s southern region?

During Hurricane Irma and the subsequent nor’easter, (September – October 2017), a foot of rain fell over the St. Johns River’s upper basin over a 30-day period. Discharges up to 2,200 cubic feet per second (cfs) were made through the C-54 canal over a period of 11 days following the hurricane, and an additional seven days following the subsequent nor’easter. This resulted in a diversion of nearly 15 billion gallons of water away from the St. Johns River.

During Hurricane Matthew (October 2016), nearly three inches of rain fell over the upper basin project over a two-week period. Discharges up to 1,300 cfs were made through the C-54 canal for nine days. This resulted in a diversion of nearly six billion gallons of water away from the St. Johns River.

Does C-54 provide flood relief for central Florida and northern areas?

Contrary to popular belief, the use of C-54 to release water from the headwaters of the St. Johns River provides no measurable flood relief to the middle basin in east-central Florida or areas north, such as Jacksonville. Downstream of the upper basin project area, flood levels are reduced only as far north as Lake Poinsett in Brevard County.

The district is local sponsor for two federal flood protection projects located in the Upper St. Johns River Basin and the Upper Ocklawaha River Basin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) provides guidance to local sponsors regarding operation and maintenance of these federal projects, including the development and use of emergency action plans (EAPs) for dams and levee systems.

We take our responsibility as local sponsor for the federal flood protection projects seriously and we work closely with USACE to ensure that the levee systems that comprise these projects are maintained and operated to reduce risk to human life and property damage associated with flooding.

The district has created “Levee System Summaries” for each of the federal flood risk reduction systems it manages. These summaries include a project description, risk information and additional details. Additionally, the district has developed an EAP for each of these levee systems to provide notification procedures for counties that include areas protected by the federal levee systems.