Pasco Co. using data, resident feedback to help with stormwater master plan
PASCO COUNTY, Fla., (WFLA) – With hurricane and rainy season here, Pasco County leaders are working to make sure their stormwater system can handle the increased amounts of water.
The plan has been years in the making, but the process is not without its challenges.
County leaders said they are not just focusing on flooding from the hurricanes, but also from your typical summer thunderstorm.
The county is no stranger to flooding; to help fix the issue, they are working on their stormwater master plan, which hasn't been updated in almost 20 years.
There are 15 projects they want to implement over the next decade, and they are taking public input from their sessions to help create them.
Pasco Co. using data, resident feedback to help with stormwater master plan
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The goal of the project is to create a cost-effective way of taking people out of the flood zones.
'The way we're trying to do that through our stormwater master plan is through our Capital Program, so, we will invest in the community, come up with a storm water plan for that community, and add infrastructure that will alleviate flooding for that community,' said Jason Mickel, Public Works Director for Pasco County.
That process is easier said than done, the biggest hurdle is that they need a place for that water to go without flooding someone else.
'We don't have a ton of elevation, we're flat, we have a lot of water, we have a lot of rain, we have over 50 inches every year. In Florida, it's either at 40 or 60 a year, or some other extreme,' said Mickel. 'So, it's very difficult to predict what type of rainfall you're going to get, and then you add hurricanes, tropical storms on top of that.'
During Tuesday night's meeting, residents brought up issues like missing pumps to help with the flooding, especially along Little Road.
'I don't care where it went, I want to know when it's going to come back, because the reason they were put in was to assist the water in getting away from that area,' said a resident.
The county said they have had to do some maneuvering with the pumps over the last few years, but everything will be back in place.
'There's been some complaints about the aesthetics of those pumps, we've tried to kind of make them look better. Right away, we had some of those concerns, as the storm season starts to approach,' Mickel responded.
The county then confirmed they will have the pumps back in place and in operation.
Through data collected from last year's hurricanes and feedback from residents, the county will adjust some of its projects.
A huge area of concern is the east side of the county, with areas like Dade City and Zephyrhills.
The next public input session will be Tuesday, June 10, from 6-8 p.m. in Dade City. It will be held at the Historic Pasco County Courthouse, in the boardroom on the 2nd floor.
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