PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Clearwater homeowners are making their voices heard and are concerned about flooding as we enter hurricane season. Residents in North Beach in Clearwater said it's a problem that has been plaguing their neighborhood for years.
"It floods within 15 minutes of when it starts raining, and it floods very very quickly and very deep," said Iwona Misuta who lives in the North Beach neighborhood.
Residents of North Beach in Clearwater said just a short rainfall can cause some major damage.
"A week ago, there was a rain shower for about an hour and you couldn't pass through any of these streets, they had completely flooded and they were backed up," said Andie Brown, a resident in the area.
When hurricanes come through, families get nervous.
"All my neighbors, last year lost almost everything they had to Hurricane Idalia. It was a travesty. All of their belongings were out on the sidewalks," said Brown.
Many homeowners said they had thousands of dollars in repairs after Hurricane Idalia.
"I think its very serious because all these people, they just finished totally redoing their homes, and now we are heading into another season, and will the need to do it again?" said Hellie Sondermann, another resident.
Leaders with the City of Clearwater said the issues are decades-old stormwater pipes that are too narrow and have debris. So, the city is working to make some stormwater improvements in the area.
The project to replace pipelines and improve the drainage system is estimated to cost up to $100 million.
"Most of these people here have had two to four feet of water in the past year. I mean that's crazy! I mean, that's just horrible. So what do we do? We batten down the hatches as well as we can. Sandbags don't help," said Brown.
City leaders said the project could take up to seven years to complete because designing a new stormwater drainage system could take two years, and improvements would need to be made in increments so the whole neighborhood wouldn't be closed for construction.
Although residents said they are happy the city has a plan, they say changes need to be made sooner.
"Seven to ten years of hurricanes, Florida, this beach…Clearwater Beach will no longer be here in seven to ten years," said Brown.
Officials are working to find funding for the project. Residents said they will contact the city to come up with more solutions for the neighborhood.
"Everybody need to get out and come together and get a plan going for what we can do," said Brown.
Back-to-back storm events brought record storm surge, rainfall and winds to the Tampa Bay region. The question some are asking now isn’t where people should rebuild, but where we should let nature regain control.
