Riviera Bay neighbors say they are tired of watching high tides and heavy rains turn their streets into temporary canals, and now the federal government is stepping in to help figure out why it keeps happening.
Federal engineers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are teaming up with the City of St. Petersburg to study chronic flooding in the low-lying waterfront neighborhood, residents say. Neighbors describe bay water regularly pushing across yards and into streets while drainage canals fill with sand and aging seawalls crack and crumble.
The city recently requested, and received, approval to work with the Corps on a neighborhood study that will map problem canals and recommend fixes. As reported by Tampa Bay 28, the study will identify which canals should be dredged along with other strategies to cut down on routine flooding.
Residents Say Canals And Seawalls Are Failing
Longtime homeowners in Riviera Bay told reporters they have watched the neighborhood’s drainage canals slowly lose depth while seawalls develop cracks and holes. That combination, they say, leaves less room for stormwater when the tides and clouds team up…