Hollywood to monitor new seawall panels during king tide period beginning Saturday

South South Lake Drive near the Hollywood Marina has faced persistent flooding for years from king tides, rainfall, and storm drain backup.

On Thursday, city workers installed and tested removable panels across five to six openings in a new seawall designed to keep seawater out.

"They've actually done a fairly good job specifically at the far eastern end of our street to be able to stop the king tides from coming in," said Shawn Fawnshier, a resident living along the street.

During peak king tides, water levels at the end of the street can reach 18 to 20 inches. However, no flooding occurred in the test area Thursday, though water continued to pour into the street further up where panels have not yet been installed.

The system is designed to block seawater during king tides with the panels in place. During heavy rain, workers will remove the panels to allow rainwater to drain into the Intracoastal Waterway.

While neighbors are optimistic about the new barrier, they note the seawall and panels cannot fix water bubbling up through municipal storm drains.

"The biggest issue right now for king tides is more of our stormwater system where it's backing up and flooding our street from the stormwater system and not from the lake anymore," Fawnshier said.

The city will continue monitoring the panels during the latest king tide period starting Saturday. If the system proves successful, officials plan to deploy the panels along other sections of the seawall.