Fear factor: Fort Lauderdale 'one hurricane away' from being under water again

Doing that will cost an estimated $10 billion and take at least a decade to complete, Geller said.

“We’re hoping the Army Corps will pay for half,” Geller said. “We can get the South Florida Water Management District to pay for 25 percent and the county would pay for 25 percent. We’d have to pass a special tax or something. But we have to do something.”

Fort Lauderdale still has much work to do to prepare for the “new reality” of a world undergoing significant climate change, Trantalis told residents in a newsletter sent last week.

Trantalis praised Fort Lauderdale’s public works team and emergency response staff for moving quickly to address the heavy rain by deploying 25 temporary pumps and 15 vacuum trucks to protect the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.

“The rains are another indicator of the need for the city to move forward aggressively with its planned upgrades to our stormwater drainage system and flood controls,” he said. “Unfortunately, many of our lowest-lying neighborhoods were built decades ago without any drainage system or ones barely able to handle the most minor of storms. Work to modernize these systems takes years to complete, but we are well underway.”

No quick fix

Fort Lauderdale is in the midst of a five-year, $200 million plan to improve drainage in seven of the city’s most flood-prone areas: Edgewood, River Oaks, Dorsey Riverbend, Durrs, Progresso, Victoria Park and Southeast Isles.

After last year’s record-breaking rainstorm flooded streets and homes, the city added 17 more neighborhoods to the list. The following areas are scheduled to get $500 million in stormwater upgrades over the next 10 years: Riverland Landings, Sailboat Bend, Tarpon River, Flagler Village, Harbor Isles/Inlet, Poinsettia Heights, South Middle River, Melrose Park, Shady Banks, Croissant Park, Middle River Terrace, Imperial Point, Lake Ridge, Riverland Manors/Woods, Chula Vista, Riverland Village and Lauderdale Isles.

“Our goal is to ensure that all new stormwater infrastructure can withstand up to 10 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, a significant improvement from previous standards,” the mayor said.

Fort Lauderdale spent $14.5 million on stormwater upgrades in Edgewood, installing 5.3 miles of new drainage pipe. The pipes in both neighborhoods won’t work until crews install high-capacity pump stations. That work should be done in December.

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