High Tides Cause Flooding In Several Areas Across Miami Beach
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Water bubbling from the drains at 31st Street and Collins Avenue was one of several areas in Miami Beach where tidal flooding covered the road.
Jareo Rodriguez lives on 31st Street. He had to step through it when he came out of his apartment, as did his neighbor Pierre Wieck.
"The sidewalk was flooded all the way to the top," he explained. "To get here I had to take my shoes off, to walk without my shoes to the front."
Roy Coley is the director of public works in Miami Beach.
"What you're seeing is commonly referred to as sunny day flooding," said Coley. "When the tidal elevation is higher than the roads you see the water bubbling up from the ground."
He said high tide is to blame for water coming up from the drains.
"The ground that Miami Beach sets on is very porous," he explained, "so whatever the sea level is our ground water level is close to the same things so as the tides come up the ground water pushes up, just literally through the ground and any kind of drains that were intended to drain the roads start working in reverse."
Miami Beach's Sea Level Mitigation plan is raising streets and installing more pipes and pumps to stop that "sunny day flooding."
Indian Creek Drive, right near Collins Avenue and 31st Street is next on the list for improvement.
"It will include elevated roadways, new pipes and pumps to remove the water," Coley said, "and all of that water on Collins Avenue drains to Indian Creek Road and so we'll be pulling that water out."
That project begins in October and is slated to last two years.