BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — The City of Boynton Beach says their utilities department is all-hands-on-deck getting ready for the rain from Hurricane Milton.
"Recently we've had a lot of rain throughout the summer and September and beginning of October already, so the ground is very saturated with high tide," said Poonam Kalkat, the utilities director for the City of Boynton Beach.
She said their crews have been out cleaning drains, looking at trenches and pumping water out of areas known for flooding for the last week as they prepared for Hurricane Helene.
"So they're just going back to the same areas, some of the areas they know that could flood, and making sure that they are removing any debris, any leaves, anything else that might be branches or anything else, or trash that collects over these storm drains," said Kalkat.
She said they are concerned about flooding due to the large number of canals throughout Boynton Beach and have been communicating with Lake Worth Drainage District as they regulate those waterways.
"The canals based on what they've told me are at levels that they think are okay but they are high at our point of view," said Kalkat. "We are anticipating there will be localized flooding."
Kalkat said some of the low-lying areas in the city are Lake Boynton Estates, Chapel Hill, and intracoastal areas like Coquina Cove that are impacted by the tide.
They do have future drainage projects in those areas and are looking for grants to help fund the projects.
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"We also evaluate every storm to develop projects as needed or other measures we can take to mitigate flooding," said Kalkat.
Monday, crews were in the Chapel Hill neighborhood, where residents like Tammy Fox said it floods even during casual storms.
"I have concerns, we prepare whether it's going to be a tropical storm or a Cat 3 because you never know what it's going to do," said Fox. "I'm concerned that it's going to flood up past our house, this area behind me, it floods when it rains."
She said she created a swale on her lawn and that she has sandbags prepared if the water level gets high.
"It's a concern because the water doesn't have anywhere to go, fortunately we all have grass in front of the house but if it gets more than what it does on a regular rain, then the concern is it's going to go up and flood the house," she said.
Boynton Beach utilities say they have drainage pumps ready to go if needed.
The city was giving away sandbags at Harvy E. Oyer Jr. Park Monday afternoon but ran out by 5 p.m. They are working to provide more.
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