CAPE CORAL, Fla. — People who live on NW 6th Terrace in Cape Coral woke up Monday morning to flooding so severe it entered vehicles parked on their street, raising concerns as hurricane season approaches.
Andrea Blevins, who lives on the street, said the drainage problems have been ongoing since Hurricane Ian.
See what Blevins and her neighbors woke up to on Monday:
"One day, they just started not working. The drains were going very slow," Blevins said.
After Monday morning's thunderstorm, which brought a little less than 2 inches of rain, water flooded into her son's car.
"If you have company or a child that lives with you, like we do, and there's limited parking, you know, you got to really watch the weather," Blevins said.
I reached out to the City of Cape Coral about the issue. Jordan Zamary, the city's engineer with the Storm Water Group and Public Works, explained that the drains are designed to drain slowly to keep pollutants out of the canals.
Zamary also noted that older drainage systems throughout the city are being actively replaced and upgraded.
"With current residences, they are set to the minimum of either the 100 Year rainfall elevation or FEMA elevation plus one foot. So rest assured, you may have flooding that occurs out in the street during those events, and it may get up very close to the property, but typically your structure is going to be safe," Zamary said.
According to Zamary, culverts that go under driveways are property owners' responsibility, while street drains fall under city maintenance. After inspecting the drains on NW 6th Terrace, he reported finding no issues.
However, Blevins believes more needs to be done before hurricane season intensifies.
"If they have to drain that slow, then maybe we need more drains, because these are the only drains on this entire street, and this street is very long, so all of the water comes from both ends and pools in my ditch," Blevins said.
The City of Cape Coral currently has a flood vulnerability survey open and is encouraging homeowners to report problematic areas throughout the city. Click here for the survey.
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