Southwest Florida Water Management District provides info on PC water buildup
Plant City residents got a better idea of whether their property is prone to flooding on Tuesday.
It was an open house provided by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFMD) at the Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center.
With 24 maps on display, SWFMD helped homeowners to indicate what areas of Plant City may see elevated levels of stormwater due to heavy rain.
Terese Power is the engineering and watershed management section manager for SWFMD. She was one of several members who was present, assisting attendees at the map stations.
“This is cooperatively funded with the City of Plant City,” she said. “The city came to the district, and we’ve been working together to look at the flooding problems in the proper city limits.”
The most recent flooding analysis was done in 2017 using a technology system called Lidar, which helps determine the levels of stormwater.
The maps had aerial views of what the land and water of Plant City looked like then, and to get an idea of where the edge of water is going to be located.
There were some maps showing different connectors such as the Alafia River Corridor Nature Preserve watershed to South Poley Creek, or the Itchepackesassa Creek watershed to East Pemberton Creek/Baker Canal.
Attendees could also sit at computer stations to pinpoint where their property is and if it could be subject to flooding.
They were used to get feedback from the public and gauge what changes could be made to the maps.
“It’s not so much as huge sweeping changes, it’s just a more refinement of that data,” Power said. “People can be more informed about the risk that might be happening for flooding on or near their property.”
She also dispels the notion that because a homeowner lives inland, away from the coast or a beach, they’re not susceptible to flooding.
The maps showed that it’s not the case. They were color-coded to indicate where high flooding areas are, what the results of the study are, what’s in the city limits, and what is a proposed area to be annexed.
Power also noted that Florida has a lot of lakes and ponds with nowhere to discharge, so in the event of rainfall, the water sits there like a bathtub.
The state agency also analyzes areas of high intensity where water rises 10 inches within a 24-hour period as a result of catastrophic storms such as hurricanes.
“Even those inland areas could be at risk depending on how water is able to flow and leave a system,” Power said. “This is the public’s opportunity to give comments on the data that we have and if there is anything that needs to be changed out of the information, we’ve received…We go back and find our models and then re-map to make them as most accurate as we want it.”
After SWFMD determines the condition of the property and identifies parcels of land, they will send letters to the property owners within the vicinity, about their analysis.
Concerns that were raised by attendees at the open house were the buildup of swamp that already occurs on their property, if new development nearby will impact flood plains in a negative way, and if there will be a hike in flood insurance premiums.
Wayne Wiggins was one of the visitors of the open house who said that based on the maps, his 50-acre property is already located within a flood zone. However, it’s been quite some time since he has seen stormwater buildup.
“We haven’t really flooded since 1960 when Hurricane Donna came through,” Wiggins said.
Like others, he too is concerned about a development that is being built in close proximity to him, and whether he will begin to see a steady surge in flooding.
“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens,” he added. “I think that the area has changed. The street property has been in my family for five generations, and it looks like I’m going to be the last generation.”
He also mentioned that this could potentially cause his property value to decline.
Jim Zinner is a civil engineer who is all too familiar with how stormwater can be detrimental to property, especially homes. He explains the concept of the 100-year storm event, where one sees a flood plain elevation, also called the base flood elevation.
“The 100-year storm event is not a storm that occurs every 100 years, it’s a statistical,” he explained. “It’s a very low frequency event, meaning it has a big storm, that doesn’t occur very often.”
In Plant City it’s 11.5 inches of rainfall that occurs during the 100-year storm event, he said.
Residents who couldn’t attend the open house can still provide comments until Friday, April 1 at WaterMatters.org/Floodplain.
