We’ve Had Enough Of The Flooding In Tampa
Enough is enough! As someone who has lived in Tampa for almost two decades, the flooding has gotten absolutely ridiculous. I speak for all of us when I say, we are over it and something has to fix it immediately! When is someone going to actually correct all the flooding in Tampa and most especially in South Tampa? Residents are mad, frustrated and want answers now.
Outdated Storm Drains Cause Flooding:
It’s outrageous that only after a few minutes of light rain that it causes such flooding in Tampa. Just yesterday, I was stuck in pretty serious flooding on Kennedy Boulevard for almost two hours. I drove by cars that were essentially floating in high water unable to move. Traffic was backed up with cars dodging heavy waters taking over the streets. Families left strained on the side of the road in the rain. There’s several intersections that repeatedly flood in the area and nothing is being done to solve the problem.
After many residents complained to the city said they put a plan in action to help with the drainage but we haven’t seen anything help. Directly in front of my house, located in South Tampa, the city dug out the street for over a year supposedly making the storm drains better. It’s allegedly going to improve the area so when heavy rain happens the water will clear out the faster. These storm drains have been outdated for decades and we haven’t seen any improvement.
Overbuilding In South Tampa Causes Flooding:
It’s not just the storm drains that are the sole issue. Overbuilding is a massive issue in South Tampa right now. More land is being cleared for housing and less water is absorbed into the ground. One Reddit commenter said, “Developers take a plot of land where a single family house (with a yard) once stood, build 3 to 8 townhomes with paved parking or driveways. And, voila! now there isn’t as much soil available for the rain to go into. Next, add into the equation, storm drains in these neighborhoods have not been maintained nor improved since the 70’s/80’s and you get flooded streets, flooded homes and cars that have to navigate special routes to get home.” Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a fix anytime soon to any of these issues. Tampa is just going to have to play catch up and be behind any of these major problems.