‘Cracks in our system:’ Jacksonville leaders discuss answers to recent stormwater drainage issues

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A meeting Tuesday morning at Jacksonville City Hall discussed 95 different drainage system rehabilitation projects across the city, including help for flooded garages, easement issues, and flooded streets damaging homes.

The discussions were led by Jacksonville City Councilmen Jimmy Peluso - who oversees the Riverside area – and Joe Carlucci - who oversees San Marco.

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“We’ve just had that consistent rainfall, we haven’t had that major event yet, and yet we are still seeing the cracks in our system,” Peluso pointed out Tuesday afternoon, referring to recent record-high rainfall and flooding across Northeast Florida.

“It’s the business owners having a day-to-day operation shut down, it’s people’s cars that are being completely totaled,” Carlucci added, referring to the urgency of these improvement projects.

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City officials outlined during Tuesday afternoon’s meeting that the 95 projects are prioritized based on a variety of factors, with damage to homes and businesses being the chief deciding factor in ranking each project’s sense of urgency.

Carlucci outlined undersized pipes on Trent Way, drainage issues on Larue Avenue, and flooding damaging homes on Mayfair Road as three of his highest priority fixes, with San Marco neighbors outlining the need for something to be done.

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“I grew up in the area for years, especially with storms like we had last week, something needs to be done about it,” San Marco resident Wes Farmand told Action News Jax. “I’m not sure what it is, but the problem is pretty bad.”

Councilmen Peluso and Carlucci also outlined during Tuesday morning’s meeting the need for more funding beyond the $6 million for each of their districts in capital improvement projects. However, the city’s chief financial officer, Anna Brosche, said that may be difficult with the city’s current high capital improvement project budget being considered unsustainable as is.

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