‘Science is accurate’: St. Pete mayor reacts to record rainfall, flooding in city
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Just two weeks ago, St. Petersburg saw flooding that put residents out of their homes, totaled cars, and frustrated lots of people.
The community is looking into how to prevent this kind of flooding in the future.
During a city hall tour, Mayor Ken Welch was asked about what he's learned since the storm.
"I learned that science is accurate," Welch said. "We got to listen to the science, we see the impacts now, and we have to adapt."
The mayor said the storm didn't reach the threshold to bring in FEMA to assist residents. He said those in need of help can file claims with the city. He also recommends people who live in areas that are not flood zones get flood insurance.
The city's Fiscal Year 2025 budget includes funding for stormwater management.
The mayor was asked if it is feasible to continue managing an aging system.
"Our stormwater management system is a another billion dollars plus that we are planning," he said. "The issue is we need to do that quicker, not over a span of 10 or 15 years."
He said no local government has the capacity to bring infrastructure up to where it needs to be. Just last week, Welch said they asked for money from budget appropriations and gathered letters from all the mayors in Pinellas County asking them to fund FEMA and fund other national support for local infrastructure and rapid improvements.
"The stormwater master plan, $1 billion plus. Our annual budget, $1.1 billion. So we could spend the entire budget just on stormwater, and barely be where we need to be," Welch said. "So it is a major issue. Same time we're passing the budget, part of the budget is increases in utility bills to help pay for the storm water."
Welch said in the meantime he would like to see something on the city website to show where the flooding might be predicted. That's what CRIS, the Community Resiliency Information System, leaders said they've been doing.
CRIS was designed to identify resiliency needs of sea-level rises, flooding, and storm surge impacts at the neighborhood level. Residents are encouraged to take pictures of the flooding they see in their neighborhoods at any time, to be able to survey the community and help with future projects.
The organization spoke at a Council of Neighborhood Association meeting Wednesday night.
"We predict the floods based on future rainfall probability and by those who report the flooding," said Dr. Barnali Dixon, CRIS Project Leader and USF Professor.
Dixon was asked how identifying these areas help when the system is getting older the by day.
"The problem is the maintenance of the cleaned drains as well as connecting that to the sea level rise so the differential is there flowing," Dixon said. "So the age may be an issue, of course it needs to be fixed. But it's more about the flow, and how much water it can move. The capacity to move the water when it rains at a steady pace or a pace that keeps up with the coming rainfall is what causes the flooding."
A resident at the meeting said they know where the flooding happens, and doesn't know if this system of getting new information will help.
"I'm not quite sure if that's going to happen quick enough for all of us that are driving through the flooded waters, ruining our cars and the people in Shore Acres having flood waters come into their homes," Joe Craig said.
The city is holding a resilience workshop Thursday at 8:30am at City Hall. They will discuss flooding and the future of the infrastructure. Residents are encouraged to attend.
You can learn more information about CRIS, here .
