ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Could there be a solution to the constant flooding in St. Pete’s Shore Acres neighborhood?

Residents sure hope so and with the help of the city, they’re meeting with experts to help find that solution.

What You Need To Know

  • St. Pete city officials and a third party engineering consultant company, along with Shore Acres residents, boarded a bus to tour the neighborhood flooding hot spots

  • It’s part of a St. Pete Resident Task Force Pilot Program, which was created by the city of St. Pete and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council

  • The bus tour started in Rivera Bay and will extend to north, west, central and south neighborhoods on May 17 and 31

  • Once completed, engineers will meet for a workshop with all neighborhoods, and later this fall, present city leaders a report with their findings and recommendations

It’s part of a St. Pete Resident Task Force Pilot Program, and that program could lead to some serious changes.

City officials and a third party engineering consultant company, along with Shore Acres residents, boarded a bus to tour the neighborhood flooding hot spots. Residents learned about an upcoming storm water pump station project that’s expected to help with what they call “sunny day flooding.”

Shore Acres Civic Association Presidnet Kevin Batdorf helped head the bus tour that’s part of the St. Pete Resident Task Force Pilot Program. The group was created by the city of St. Pete and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

“They want to know from each neighborhood what type of flooding do you have,” he said. “My answer was, ‘What type of flooding you got? Because we got it all.’ The one item they don’t have a plan for is surge flooding. We really need to devise a plan to alleviate surge flooding.”

St. Pete City Councilmember Mike Harting followed the bus to each stop. He represents the area and says the city will do as much as they’re able to do to fix the issues here.

“I think you’ll see solutions to these current problems. The ones that are fixable, the ones that are solvable, and the ones that are economically viable for the city,” he said.

Lois Eck’s house flooded during Hurricane Helene. She listened on the tour and says she’s excited about potential solutions, but she worries it could take years.

“I got a feeling,” she said. “I hope I’m alive when all this gets done.”

Chris Frasier got a lot of his questions answered, but he’s hoping the experts were listening to what they had to say.

“I hope that they realize something has to get done, and hopefully, we can spend money wisely to make the right improvements,” he said.

It’s a tall task, but one these engineers will evaluate and offer up possible fixes to the flooding.

The city of St. Pete provided a statement about these neighborhood resilience tours:

“This important feedback will inform future decisions and strategies that will benefit not only these representative neighborhoods, but can be applied citywide to improve the resilience of all St. Pete neighborhoods.”

The bus tour started in Rivera Bay and will extend to north, west, central and south neighborhoods on May 17 and 31. Once completed, engineers will meet for a workshop with all neighborhoods, and later this fall, present city leaders a report with their findings and recommendations.