SFWMD manages canal flooding amid the rain flows from Hurricane Dorian

One way crews are getting ready for the storm by clearing out canals. They are removing debris and lowering water levels should there be flooding. It is a big job and imperative to keep you safe.

Right now, it is a balancing act for the South Florida Water Management District prepping for the impacts of Hurricane Dorian. They are checking canal levels to prevent overflowing.

Phil Flood, with the SFWMD, said that comes with being in the flood business.

“We do want to maintain the communities safe and dry,” Flood said.

The district manages canals at the Merrit Pump Station in Collier County. The site is where canals in the Golden Gate Estates flow to and are pumped out to the Picayune Strand to help with restoration.

As of Thursday afternoon, with the suspected few inches of rain, the district has not dropped any canal levels in Collier County.

“Right now, its kind of a waiting game,” Flood said. “We don’t want to overdrain these areas because then we will have problems with our wetlands with water supply.”

But, they are on standby to keep neighborhoods dry. They are tracking how much rain there is and where it is coming from. With that information, it decides how to move the water from one part of a county or a community to another.

Flood told WINK News they control everything within a 60 county area from West Palm Beach.

“We have a control center there where we can open and close gates, turn on and off pumps,” Flood said. “We have staff over here and throughout the district who manage the district.”