Traffic And Flooding In Hallandale Beach Part 2

Being a mayor from Florida gave me an opportunity to share what was taking place in our backyard. Many elected Mayors did not even know what King Tide was. They thought a flood was simply tied to hurricanes and major storms. Many people that even live in our city were unaware of what King Tides were until they witnessed the impacts. King Tide combined with the new reality of sea level rise has reached an alarming stage. Many climate change deniers are now realizing this is not an existential threat, it is a threat to everyone here.

I along with many elected officials have been sounding this alarm. At our last budget meeting, I raised the issue that while we have so many projects that are addressing aged Infrastructure with potable water and wastewater, we need to look at stormwater more aggressively. Traffic has and will remain a top complaint, but flooding has jumped its way to second. It is my opinion that it should be the top issue. It is a public safety issue.

One of my colleagues at the Water Council inquired about the threat of hurricanes. He asked, “How can I live in an area that faces hurricanes annually?” He was not expecting my answer. I said, “While high winds create destruction, we continue to harden our properties and improve our planning. What causes me to lose sleep is storm surge and flooding. They kill people.” He was shocked. The past year, we witnessed multiple deadly storms. Some in areas where hurricanes never struck before.

So, what are we doing about flooding? We have always had a Stormwater Plan. FEMA has established flood maps for years. Our Staff and the Transportation and Flood Management Advisory Board work annually, submitting our plans. We actually have always received great ratings and actually those ratings helped reduce flood insurance rates. We have also looked to improve drainage.

One of the projects that we implemented was Chaves Lake pumping area. This was a joint project with Pembroke Park and FDOT. The next large project was the Northeast Pumping Stations and Southwest Pumping Station. The Northeast Project along 14th Avenue was only half of what was needed to be completed. The other half was always contemplated and part of our Master Plan. I requested this project be moved up and it was added to the priority list after the first 1000-year storm. This past session our 10 million dollar funding request was made to the State Budget but was cut by the Governor.

Fast forward to last year with the two 1000-year storm events, we began to readdress our Master Plan and created a new Emergency Response Plan to include many measures to address the new reality of micro storms. These are where smaller areas are hit with massive rain. Not simply a few inches but 5 inches to up to 26 inches in hours. The most recent event was 4 inches in less than an hour. This combined with king tide created flooding. I received many text messages and calls but thankfully only received one with a report of water in a garage. Some cars were not that lucky.

Earlier this year the United States Army Corps of Engineers USACE and Broward County updated their plans. They include resiliency goals. These plans were recently presented to the South Florida municipalities. The plan is a large-scale plan for the entire area south of Lake Okeechobee. It is not a plan for every city.

While we are updating the Stormwater Master Plan we have and will continue to do smaller projects that include cleaning projects of major underground pipes, adding tie ins to existing systems and smaller localized drainage projects. We must evaluate our vulnerability not simply for today but the future.

Residents may ask, we know flooding is everywhere now, why not just put in pumps? Why not pump out? The second part is easy with the Sea Level Rise the water table has risen there is nowhere to pump too but pump down. We know the issue of Sea Level Rise has gotten worse.

An assessment of vulnerability is necessary so we can move forward with an accurate blueprint taking every area into consideration. This study is taking into consideration all the updated USACE and Broward County studies which update a detailed sea level map. A detailed report of various levels of flooding and the impacts of events like storm surge and the capacity needed to address various scenarios of flooding for the long-term is needed to establish a blueprint. Only then can we build out a new strategic plan.

I like to remind residents that water knows no boundary. A1A, Federal Highway, Hallandale Beach Boulevard and Pembroke Road are all state and county-controlled roads. Our City borders Miami-Dade County to the south and Hollywood to the north. Some of the projects will involve multiple partners. We need to understand what portion of these projects are our responsibility and which responsibilities need to be shared.

Staff have received the preliminary study and are in the review and comment period. After they are done it will be presented to the commission. It will include all types of improvements. The biggest question is how it will be paid for.

As always, I am available anytime for your questions, concerns and ideas to make our City a better place on Phone/Text at: (954) 632-5700. Or you can email me at: jcooper@cohb.org. Please visit me on my Facebook page at: Mayor Joy Cooper. Like! Follow! And share!