March 18, 2019 - 8:00pm
Rainfall totals as high as 4-6 inches are expected in major portions of the South Florida Water Management District's 16 counties on Tuesday, and SFWMD staff are preparing the system now by lowering canals to handle stormwater.
Watch the video on this page to see what the District is doing to get the regional flood control system ready to handle rainfall from the predicted upper level weather disturbance.
The disturbance moving in from Mexico is expected to interact with a cold front and drop an average of 1 inch of rainfall on the basins from Lake Okeechobee south, starting early Tuesday morning and diminishing by Tuesday evening. Some areas face 4-6 inches, which makes the storm a significant event for the Everglades.
Much of the region is dry due to drier conditions over the recent weeks. SFWMD is preparing the regional flood control system by drawing down canals along the east coast from Palm Beach County south to Miami-Dade County to ensure they have capacity to move stormwater runoff from local drainage districts and municipalities.
The District also held a conference call on Monday afternoon with local drainage districts that are responsible for local flood protection to share information and coordinate storm preparations.
Flood control in South Florida is a shared responsibility between the District, which operates the regional flood control system, and local drainage districts, municipalities and homeowners associations that operate the secondary and tertiary drainage systems that move flood waters away from homes and neighborhoods. Residents throughout South Florida can report neighborhood flooding concerns by visiting the website, www.sfwmd.gov/floodcontrol and entering an address to locate their local drainage district.
